


Blood Is Thicker Than Water

by Apollos_Meatballs



Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bella's half sister, Book: New Moon, F/M, Family Bonding, I'm my own beta, Justice For Leah, LGBTQ Themes, Old and new Friends, Sibling Bonding, Twilight Renaissance, but they don't know it yet, father daughter bonding, getting imprinted, imprint, slowly giving Bella a backbone
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:08:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 69,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27888052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apollos_Meatballs/pseuds/Apollos_Meatballs
Summary: Amelia 'Mia' Evans is a junior at Forks High. She and her mom moved back to Forks after living in Seattle ever since she was little. Normally, Mia loves the big city life but something about Forks makes her feel like she is finally home even though she has never been there since her mom left shortly before she got pregnant. So far, everything is going great until Mia finds out the identity of her father, discovers she has a half-sister and stumbles upon a whole supernatural drama happening behind the backs of Forks' citizens.P.S.: I suck at summaries.
Relationships: Edward Cullen/Bella Swan, Jacob Black/Bella Swan, Paul Lahote/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 51
Kudos: 46





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I am back again yet with another Twilight fic (and YES, it about Paul again)! The quarantine has really turned me back to my eleven-year-old twilight obsessed self. I will try to update as much as school lets me but I am very excited about this story! I know Bella having a sister is kind of a cliche trope by now but I think I could interest&surprise you! Thank you so much for clicking on to the story and even bigger thanks to those of you who decide to stay and read more! If you like Twilight, feel free to check out my other fics. Please let me know your opinions about it, I love the feedback and criticism!

Mia snorted, almost spraying her coke out. “And then he falls on his ass,” Cait continued. “ Best. Prank. Ever.” she drew out her words. Mia leaned back on her chair and placed her hand on her tummy. “I would pay money to see that,” 

Currently, she was sitting in the cafeteria with her friends on their lunch break and Cait- Caitlyn but they called her Cait- was telling them about the prank she pulled on her brother yesterday. “You know that means war, right?” Olivia chuckled. 

Cait rolled her eyes, “ Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’ll just tell Dad, I’m his little princess,” she winked. “ He’s already plotting,” Mia smiled, pointing to the table Cait’s brother Jack was sitting. He was half turned toward them with a wicked smile. She shrugged and turned back to her friends while Mia let her eyes linger on Jack a bit more. 

“ Let him bring it on,” she said and took a bite of her food. “Anyways, have you guys heard about the pop quiz Mr.Molina is thinking of doing this afternoon?” Mia furrowed her eyebrows, “What? No!” she exclaimed. 

Biology wasn’t her best subject and her grade was already low enough that a pop quiz would put it into a risk of failing the class. “Where did you hear it from?” Olivia asked. “I heard Jenny and Vanessa talking about it in the toilet,” 

Olivia and Cait were Mia’s best friends ever since she and her mom moved to Forks. Her mom was a nurse and they used to live in Seattle but her mother was tired of the big city and wanted to move back to the small city she was born in, plus according to her the shifts at Forks Hospital were less exhausting. 

“Ok, well, we can’t leave it to chance, what could he ask?” Olivia murmured as she put out her Biology textbook. “ I don’t know, just go over everything,” Cait huffed. Their lunch continued as they revised the subjects. 

Mia let out a breath in annoyance as she stepped outside of the classroom. Mr. Molina did in fact do a pop quiz and it sucked. She’d be lucky if she got any points. Biology was just hard for Mia and she always had a hard time admitting it even though her mom was a nurse and occasionally helped her. Why didn’t her mom’s intelligence pass onto her? 

She grabbed her binder tighter and just walked to her locker. She was a junior and she should have already passed this class but she always delayed taking it out of fear of failing. She was better at social sciences than this, she was mostly taking AP in those subjects. But she had to pass sophomore Biology if she wanted a good GPA. 

Her mind was full of thoughts and the heartbreak of a possible failure when she bumped into someone. As Mia’s eyes opened in a shock that pulled her out of her trance, the girl she hit seemed to be out of a similar trance too. 

They both kneeled down at the same time to grab Mia’s fallen binder. Mia smiled, “Sorry,” she murmured. The girl gave a small smile. “No worries,” she replied. Mia knew her, that was Bella Swan. She was a senior now and transferred here last year. She was the daughter of the Chief and was the only person in Forks who managed to befriend the Cullens. She looked so fragile now compared to before. 

After sharing an uncomfortable smile they both continued their way silently. Cait and Olivia were still in the class taking the quiz, Mr.Molina let them use the break as well. When she closed her locker, she came face to face with Jack. 

“ Amelia, how are you on this fine day?” Jack smirked. Mia rolled her eyes. “I’m better now that I heard about what happened, how’s your ass by the way? Still sore?” Jack rolled his eyes but his amusement stayed. “ Bold words,” 

Mia raised her eyebrow. “ You know, I could ask mom for a cream. To help with the soreness and all,” she said with a smile. Jack chuckled. “Funny,” he murmured. “You wouldn’t be interested in helping me get revenge from my devil of a sister now, would you?” 

She chuckled. “I don’t think so,” she grinned. “I’m sure I could persuade you. What about getting you a date with one of my guys from the team?” Jack played in the school’s football team and he was a senior as well. “ Nah, pass,” 

Jack stepped in front of her when she tried to move. “How about I get you the notes for Molina’s class? The final and all,” Well, now, that was intriguing. “ Have I caught your attention now?” he smirked again. 

How did he know that she was failing that class horribly? “ She’s never silent when she’s on the phone with you guys, I’m just next door,” he looked like he thought he had her. Mia took a deep breath. “ I don’t even care if you get me the final questions, you possibly can’t be that dumb to think I’ll screw over her,” 

With that, she walked away from him. It was no secret that Jack was handsome, he had green eyes and blonde hair. Because of playing in the team, his body wasn’t bad either. Mia would admit that if he wasn’t her best friend’s brother she might have a crush on him. But, after going to their house countless times and seeing him banter with Caitlyn, he was now out of her 'love interests' category. He was off-limits. Plus, he taunted her and Olivia as well as Cait and this wasn’t a fictional story where they would fall in love. 

Cait and Olivia were sitting at their desk when she got to their AP History class. “ Where were you?” Olivia interjected. She had left the class before them, it would only be logical if she was there when they got there. 

“ I got held up by Jack,” she huffed as she sat. “Oh, no! What did that jackass offer?” Cait asked. Mia shrugged, “ He thought I would choose his side. Can you believe that, as if?” 

The girls chuckled. “But he pissed me off, so, I am already brewing ideas,” she continued. Olivia put her hands under her chin and leaned on the table with a wicked grin. “Oh, yes! I love it when you get evil!” 

I liked to think of myself as a great strategist. I was great at coming up with plans like this to get revenge. Of course, they were never seriously harmful but funny. “ What are you thinking?” Cait asked. 

“ We are gonna need to go to the hardware store,” she smiled. Cait smirked. “ Can we go to the one by Newton's store?” she asked. Cait had a crush on Mike Newton, a senior at their school. He was a popular guy and dated a few of the girls and she was way over heels for him since day one. 

Olive chuckled. “Sure, you wouldn’t go anywhere else anyway,” 

After school, they take Olivia’s car to go to the store. After that, they get some coffee and go over their plan. Of course, they wouldn’t move before Jack made his, but it was good to be prepared. 

The whole thing between Jack and Cait started because he refused to give Cait a ride in the first place, so now, they were going to unscrew the tire’s from his car. He was supposed to go away next week for a game, and they’d do it the night that he was gone. He would probably make his move in the following days. 

Cait stopped in front of Mia’s house. “Why is there a police car in your house?” Olivia asked. “I don’t know,” Mia murmured. “ Do you want us to wait?” Caitlyn asked. “No,” Mia answered, “I don’t think it’s serious,” 

“ Let us know!” Olivia called out when Mia stepped out of the car. She nodded and walked inside. Her mom’s car was outside as well. “ Mom?” she called out. When there was no answer she called out louder, a hint of fear in her voice. The living room was empty. 

“ In the kitchen!” Liz, her mother, called out. She sounded normal which calmed Mia a bit down. “ Why is there a pol--?” Mia started to ask but stopped when she spotted her mother and Chief Swan sitting at the table, drinking coffee. “ Oh,” 

Liz smiled. “ Darling, this is Charlie. An old friend,” she introduced. Mia forced a smile. “Yeah, nice to meet you,” Chief Swan grunted. “ Likewise,” he let out. This explained why there was a police car outside of their house, but it didn’t explain why. 

Charlie looked around the room nervously and Mia gave a look to her mom. Her brows were furrowed and she looked confused. Liz gave her a classic ‘we’ll talk later’ look that moms usually gave. 

“I should get going,” Charlie murmured. Liz nodded and smiled. “Alright, we’ll talk later than,” she said sweetly. Mia was curiously watching the scene. Chief tilted his head and looked at Mia. He gave her a fast smile and walked out of the room. Liz was behind her. 

When Mia heard the sound of their door closing she stepped into the living room. “Why is the Chief of Police in our house? Did something happen? Are you okay?” she started listing the questions. 

Liz laughed it off. “Everything’s fine, don’t worry,” she smiled, “What did you think of him?” Mia was even more confused now. “Should I have an opinion?” Her mom awaited her answer eagerly. 

“Oh my god, mom!” Mia shrieked, “ Are you doing the Chief?” Liz’s amused face disappeared. “ What? No! Is this what the kids are saying nowadays? Doing someone, pfff,” she huffed. 

Mia crossed her arms over her chest. “Then what?” she asked. Liz shrugged. “Like I said, he’s an old friend. We were just catching up,” As far as Mia knew, her mother didn’t have many serious relationships since her father. 

Liz didn’t really talk about her father and she was a great mother so apart from the occasional wondering Mia never really thought of her father. When they were in Seattle, there were two guys her mom dated, Kyle and Tyler. She and Tyler even came close to getting married but they decided to part ways. It was shortly before they moved back to Forks. 

Her mom always said between her shifts at the hospital and Mia, she didn’t really have time for relationships anymore. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if her mom started dating again to Mia, her mom deserved to have a partner in life as well. She just didn’t expect it to be the Chief of Police in their town. Well, it wasn’t him anyway according to her mom. 

“ You know what,” Liz breathed, “ Why don’t you go get changed and I’ll prepare the popcorn. The next episode of Grey’s Anatomy is in a few minutes,” Despite most health staff not liking to watch medical stuff, her mom loved it for some reason so it was a tradition for them to watch it together whenever they could. 

Mia nodded. “ Alright, but no throwing the popcorn to the screen this time, I actually want to eat it,” Liz chuckled and went inside the kitchen as Mia made her way to her bedroom to change.


	2. Chapter 2

Mia seriously hated slow drivers. It wasn’t like she was a crazed driver too, but when you were going twenty down from the limit, it got annoying. She checked the road and than got in front of it. She increased her speed a little bit, still under the limit, and went on her way. 

Just as when she arrived to the cafe where she and the girls were going to meet up, the siren of a police car stopped her. She pulled right on the road and took out her registration with her heart beating at her mouth. 

It wasn’t like she was never pulled before but this time she actually did something illegal. She sat up straight on the seat and looked ahead, trying to put an innocent look on her face. The window was knocked gently. 

Mia took a deep breath and rolled down her window. “ Officer, I-” she started but she stopped talking when she saw Chief Swan. He was the Chief, why was he spending time on the streets like the cadets? 

“Amelia,” he sounded surprised. “ Uhm, I actually prefer Mia, Chief,” she replied. He nodded. “ Were you aware of that maneuver you did two miles back?”

She pressed her lips together. Would it help if she complained about the slow driver? Probably not… “ Please don’t tell my mom,” she pleaded. “Do you usually drive like this?” Charlie asked instead. 

Mia shook her head. “No sir,” she was firm. Charlie gave her a look and took a deep breath. “Normally, I should be giving you a ticket,” he started, “ but I’ll let it slide for now. No more adventures, alright?” 

“ Understood, sir,” she answered. She took a deep breath of relief. She would have to spend the money she saved for a new phone if she got a ticket, and wanted to pay without her mom knowing. “Good, be safe out there,” Chief said and walked back to his car. 

Mia slowly turned on her car again,even used the blinkers and drove away. It was a close call, guess her mom’s friendship with Chief Swan would really benefit her. 

“Have you asked your mom?” Olivia asked as soon as she sat down. “No, not yet,” Mia shook her head. Her birthday was in a few weeks, she was finally turning seventeen. She was born in December so all of her friends were already seventeen. 

“ Why?” Cait asked. “I know her, I need to ask her when it’s closer or she’ll never agree to it, saying the future is so away and I might come up with other plans,” Mia explained. Caitlyn huffed. 

She was pissed because Jack did her move the night before, he replaced her shampoo with hair bleach and now Cait’s hair was blonde, which she was hiding under a beanie. We were dying it back to her color tonight, after getting food. 

“ I’ll just have to find out when she has the night shift that week, the rest is easy,” Mia murmured, with her mom at the hospital she would say she was inviting over a few friends over for her birthday and they would have a party. 

They were going to invite people from school, including Mike for Cait now that he was single again. Cait made Jack promise to come before their fight and he agreed to bring people over as well. When the team was coming, other people did too. 

The only way Mia agreed to a party of that magnitude at her house was because Olivia and Caitlyn promised to help her clean the day after, before her mom got back home. 

“ I’ll take care of it, I promise,” she smiled. Cait forced one too, “You better, it’s one of my last chances to shoot my shot before the semester ends and before he finds another girl,” she sounded dreamy. Olivia chuckled.

After eating and getting the dye from the nearby pharmacy the girls went to Olivia’s house. They dyed Cait’s hair and watched a movie. “ Do you think I would rock as a blonde?” Cait asked. 

“No,” Olivia said, “ You would look like one of those people who had a bad wig on,” Mia chuckled and agreed. They were all brunettes, Cait’s almost as dark as black. “ Or a cheap porn star,” 

Cait pouted. “I hate you guys,” she murmured. “ Mike goes for brunettes,” Olivia replied. “ A very well made point,” Mia winked. Her phone screen lighted up. It was a text from her mom, saying her shift would be over in half an hour. 

Since Mia had the car, she had to go and pick her mom up. “ I’ve gotta go. Cait, do you want a ride?” she asked. She nodded. “Yes, please,” 

After dropping Caitlyn at her house, Mia drove to the hospital. She parked the car and went inside to the nurse’s station. Sophie and Carl, two nurses she knew from her mother were sitting there. 

“Hello,” she greeted them. They smiled at her. “Here to pick your mom up?” Carl asked. Mia nodded. “ She was free but Dr. Jones pulled her last minute,” he answered. “Oh, he’s the new boss, right?” 

Sophie sighed. “Yeah, I’m afraid Dr.Cullen’s good looks wasn’t the only thing we lost,” she said. Her mom would vent about the annoying things that went on her job to Mia at dinner or breakfast, whichever she could catch. The nurses knew Mia too as she spent most of her freshman year at the hospital since her mom wouldn’t leave her alone at the house. 

The Cullens left a couple of months ago, abruptly. That was the reason why Bella Swan was depressed too, even though Mia didn’t know her personally, everyone knew about it. She was the first person to ever catch the attention of the Cullens, and actually befriended them last year and started dating the hot bachelor of the school, Edward Cullen. 

Everyone had a crush on him, even if it wasn’t a crush they all admitted he was attractive. When they started dating, everyone was shocked, since it was, well, one of the Cullens. The Cullens who never interacted with anyone else but their family. 

Her mom said Dr. Cullen was a kind person and he was very friendly, and his wife would sometimes cook for the staff, but the same couldn’t be said for the rest of his family. 

“Yikes,” Mia said. “How long until she’s free?” Sophie shrugged. “ Ten to fifteen, probably. It’s--” she proceeded to tell Mia about the procedure but someone started yelling as their beepers let out a high sound. 

“ Code Blue in 202!” was the yell. Sophie was sitting in a chair and Carl was leaning on the table but they moved to their feet in a second and started running to the room. Code Blue meant that someone’s heart stopped, Mia knew that from both her mom and Grey’s Anatomy. 

She watched them go and stepped behind the counter to take a seat. If it was going to be ten to fifteen minutes, she didn’t want to wait on her feet. Her mom said that they were going somewhere tonight, didn’t say where, but Mia had a guess. 

Her mother was from here. Liz’s mother was from Forks and her father from La Push, the reservation. After they got married they moved to Forks but the paternal side of her family was in La Push. Liz moved to Seattle shortly before she was born, or conceived, and her father- Mia’s grandfather- died when they were in Seattle. 

Her grandmother still lived in Forks and they were probably going over there. It must be there because her mother wouldn’t take no for an answer when she told het they were going. Her mother and grandmother weren’t speaking for a few months now and Mia could guess her mom wanted her there to ease the tensions. 

After twenty minutes Liz showed up in the clothes she left in the morning. She must have changed her scrubs before coming to her. “Sorry I kept you waiting honey,” Liz said and kissed Mia’s forehead. 

“Let me sign a few documents then we can go,” she continued. Mia nodded. Carl came back as Liz was looking over a few files. “ I’m heading out, don’t forget to get the results of Mr. White in room 204 and check Mrs. Reed’s vitals throughout the night,” 

Carl smiled. “Don’t worry, we’ve got it covered,” he replied. Liz nodded and put on her coat. She and Mia walked out and got inside the car. Mia put the right blinker on as she waited for an opening to turn right.

“ We’re going left,” Liz said. Mia turned to her, confused. “Wait, isn’t grandma’s house that way?” she questioned. Liz looked up from her phone. “ We’re not going to grandmother’s,” she answered. 

Then where were they going? “ We are going to La Push, an old friend invited us for dinner,” she explained. “ Who’s in La Push?” Mia asked as she turned left and got on the road. “ I told you, an old friend,” 

“ You seem to be having a lot of those these days,” Mia murmured before her mom put on the radio and gave her the non-verbal signal to stop asking questions. Mia obeyed for the time being, it was a thirty-minute drive so she had plenty of time to ask questions. 

After going half the way she decreased the volume of the radio. “I thought you and grandma were finally going to deal with it. Why didn’t you tell me where we were going before?” she asked. 

“ You wouldn’t have come if I said before,” her mom replied. “ Fine,” Mia breathed out, “ Are you at least finally going to tell me why you and grandma aren’t talking?”

Liz took a deep breath. “ She wants me to do something, but I’m not sure it’s time,” she replied. Before Mia could ask more she started giving out directions since they passed the sign of La Push. 

They stopped in front of a house. The door was already open by the time they got out of the car. A man in a wheelchair was waiting for them at the door with a smile on his face. “I was afraid I’d had to eat the whole meal by myself,” he called out. 

“Wouldn’t be the best for your blood pressure… or tummy,” Liz replied back with a smile. “ You’re the expert now?” the man asked. “ You know I am,” Liz smirked. Mia was watching them banter with a shocked face. She had never seen this man before and seeing her mom banter as if she was a teenager with someone other than her or her co-workers was surprising. 

Liz put her hand on Mia’s shoulder. “ This is Mia, my daughter,” she introduced. “ And this is Billy Black, my friend from way back then,” 

“You mean from the stone ages,” someone else said. It was a teenage boy with long black hair. Liz laughed. “Sure, probably must feel like that to you youngsters,” Billy chuckled. “Pleased to meet you, this is my son Jacob,” 

Jacob stood behind his father, his hands were on the pocket of his jacket. “You can call me Jake,” he said with a smile. Mia smiled, they seemed friendly. “ Should we directly eat? I don’t think the years have worn off your appetite,” Billy said to her mom. 

There were only four of them at the table. “ I think you guys are the same age,” Billy said. “ Yeah, they are. Crazy right?” Liz said and gave him a look but Mia didn’t miss it. “ So, how do you guys know each other?” she asked. 

Billy leaned back on his chair. “We were childhood friends. Liz’s father and mine were friends so we grew up together,” he explained. “We used to spend the summers on the reservation and most of the weekends too,” Liz continued. 

“ But you didn’t keep in touch when we went to Seattle?” Mia asked. Billy brought his glass of water to his mouth. “ Not much,” Liz answered, “Life got in the way,” she sounded less cheerful now. 

Billy pressed his lips together. “But when I got word that she moved back, I called her up,” he said. Then why didn’t Mia meet him or even heard of him in the past years they spent here? 

“C’mon honey, we’re here to have a fun time,” Liz said and it was a code for her to stop asking that kind of questions. She huffed and turned to Billy. “ Alright, can you tell me any funny stories of mom that I could use to make fun of her?” 

Billy smirked in an instant. “ Tons,” he replied. Jake chuckled. “Great, he loves telling stories… I don’t think you guys can leave until the sun comes up,” 

When they were done eating, Billy had told three stories about their youth. Mia’s stomach was hurting from laughing so much, her mom used to be crazy. “ Jacob,” Billy said, turning to him, “ Why don’t you show Mia around? I’m sure she has never been to our lands before,” 

As a matter of fact, Mia hadn’t. This was her first time stepping foot in here, which was weird considering she had roots here. “ What about the table?” Jake asked. Billy shrugged. “ Liz and I can handle it, don’t worry,” 

Jake and Mia went outside. “ What is there to see?” she asked. Jake shrugged. “Not much besides the woods,” he smiled, “ Unless you’re into that kind of things,” 

“ Eh, I’m from the big city. Would be a change honestly,” she answered. “ Alright,” he said and they headed to the woods. “Is it safe?” she asked him. “ Why wouldn’t it be?” 

Although Mia hadn’t been to the reservation before she was aware of the news. There were a few animal attacks last year, she remembered Jerry, a fisherman, dying because of it. “ You know, the animal attacks,” 

Jake stopped smiling. “Oh,” he said and looked down as they kept walking. “It’s safe now,” he said, “At least my dad says it is. He says we’re the natives of the land and it knows us, that it wouldn’t harm one of it’s own,” 

“Hmm,” Mia murmured and looked ahead. The trees were so long and she felt as if she was in the Amazons or something. They were thick, long and much. She could understand how easy it would be to get lost. Like Bella Swan did back three months ago. 

She turned to him. “Do you think the land recognizes me as one of its own?” she asked. Since she never knew her father all she had known about her family was on her mother’s side. And seeing how she didn’t even step foot in La Push until today was saying a lot. 

She would like to get to know about her family and roots better, she realized. To have a connection. Even though she liked Seattle, it felt like there was always something missing. Seeing the way her mom was ever since she came back made Mia want the same thing. 

She still remembered the first morning she and her mother had after they moved here. She was up early and was sitting behind their house in the grass, looking over to the forest. She had a bright smile. “ We’re finally home,” she had said to Mia and she sounded so sincere that Mia believed her. 

“ Why wouldn’t it?” Jake asked. Mia shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe because I’ve been away for so long,” she replied. Jake took a minute to answer. “ Dad says these lands are special. That it is like alive, somehow… Don’t look at me like that, it’s in one of his many stories about our history, the tribe’s… Anyway, he says no matter what one recognizes its own, no matter how away we are, home is always here and waiting,” 

Mia bit down on her bottom lip. That actually made her feel warm inside. “ That’s nice,” she said. “ So, do I like, need to go to the tribe school now? To learn,” she joked. Jake chuckled. “ My dad can cover for you whenever you want, he loves it,” 

They were chuckling until the moment two people jumped in front of them and screamed. Mia let out a shriek and fell on her ass in shock. She then heard laughter. She had closed her eyes in fear. 

There were two guys, looking similar to Jacob and in their age howling with laughter. “ We got you so bad!” One of them said. “ Little shits!” Jake hissed and helped Mia get back on her feet. 

“ Mia, these are my stupid friends, Quil and Embry,” he said. “Hello,” Quil said and both of them smiled at her like they were innocent. “ If we knew you’d get so scared, we wouldn’t do that,” Embry continued. 

Mia rolled her eyes and dusted the dirt off of her. “I am going to let it slide because I don’t know you but the next time you do something like that, I will get my revenge,” she smirked. The guys chuckled. “ I like her,” Embry said. 

“ What are you doing here?” Jake asked them. “ We were coming over to your house then we saw you two walking into the woods so we decided to prank you,” Quil answered with a smirk. 

Mia was silently listening to them. By the sound of Quil’s tone they had plans. “ Oh, you guys were supposed to hang out?” she asked. Jake nodded. “Yeah, dad informed me that you guys were coming at the last minute,” 

“ We can all hang out together,” Embry offered. They agreed and went back to the Black house. They went inside the garage. “ Dad and I like to fix up cars,” Jake explained as Mia eyed all the tools. “Cool,” she said.

Embry and Quil sat down. “Yeah and we usually sit here and watch him,” Embry said. “ So, is it like cheaper than to buy a car?” she asked since she was saving money to get her own. Jake shrugged as he picked up something and leaned over a car.

“ Ehhh, it depends on what kind of thing you’re looking for,” he replied. “ I’m saving to get my own car,” Mia said. Jake turned to her. “ I could help with that,” 

“ Bet you could,” Quil smirked. Jake showed him his middle finger. “ Asshole,” he murmured under his breath. Mia chuckled. 

She was curious about what their parents were talking about inside, it was obvious they didn’t want them to hear what was going on and she didn’t know whether Jake knew about it or not. 

“ What are guys doing on the eighteenth?” she asked. “Nothing, I guess,” Embry answered. “ Why?” Jake asked. “ I’m having a party at my house for my birthday, maybe you guys wanna come,” 

She turned to Quil, “But no promises on no paybacks,” she smirked at him. Quil winked. “I love surprises,” he replied. Jake rolled his eyes. “Sure, we’ll see,” 

They hung out for a while before Liz and Billy entered the garage. “Looks like you guys got along,” Liz said. Mia smiled and nodded. “ Hello, boys,” Billy said to the guys. The guys greeted him back. 

“Time for us to go, honey,” Liz said. Mia got up. “Nice to meet you again,” she said and walked out with her mom. “ Don’t be a stranger Lizzy!” Billy called out from after them. Liz laughed and nodded. They got inside the car. 

After five minutes Liz turned to Mia. “ Did you like them?” she asked. Mia nodded. “Yeah, they’re nice,” she said, “I invited Jake and his friends to my birthday party,” Since her mom made her come here she could use this opportunity to get an approval for the party. 

“You’re having a party?” Liz asked. She nodded. “Yeah, girls and I thought we could invite a few people over. Can you get the night shift that day?” Liz smiled knowingly. “Alright… If you want a house party, we’ll make it happen,”


	3. Chapter 3

“Mia! The dinner’s getting cold!” Liz shouted for the third time in row. “Coming!” Mia responded. “You can’t go now, I’m not done!” Cait sighed. The girls were on a phone talk, they have been talking for more than an hour. Caitlyn was telling them about the counter move she made against Jack. 

Mia sighed. “I’ll be back shortly, I promise,” she said and threw her phone to her bed. Liz was seated at the table with her plate before her, she was on her phone. “Finally,” she murmured as Mia sat down. 

Liz was not the best person at cooking, she was used to only cooking fast recipes because of her job but when she did cook something, it was very nice. She had made spaghetti and meatballs. 

“ What is going on in Cait’s crazy life?” Liz asked, amused. Mia shrugged. “ Something between her and Jack,” Liz upped her eyebrows. “Oh, sibling fights, I remember them,” 

Mia furrowed her brows. “You don’t have a sibling,” she scoffed after swallowing her food. Liz smirked. “ Well, not from my parents, but I had friends who were like siblings,” she answered, “Like Billy said the other night, the tribe is family, we’re all connected,” 

Mia wondered how much there was she didn’t know about her mom’s past or about the tribe. By her grandfather, she was a descendant as well. She didn’t look like them, she had brown hair, green eyes and a light skin. Her mom's skin wasn’t that dark either. 

But she liked the idea of having a background like that. With history and culture. The thing was, most people in Forks didn’t like the city, they viewed is as a boring small town. It surely felt like that to Mia the first weeks, especially after growing up in the big city, but after three years, she loved it. She didn’t see Forks as a small boring town. 

“ What are you doing tomorrow evening?” Liz asked. Today was a thursday. “ Olivia, Cait and I were thinking of going to the movies,” she answered. “ Take a raincheck,” Liz said. “ We received an invite for a barbeque,” 

The new Avengers movie was coming out and Mia was a die-hard fan, she had been waiting all week to go, because it was a long drive, and she had managed to avoid spoilers until now. “ I can’t! Mom, it’s the new Marvel movie,” 

“ You can go in the weekend,” Liz said, “I can’t just show up by myself, families will be around,” she continued. “Where are we going?” Mia asked. “ Chief Swan invited us, there’s a game tomorrow. Billy, Charlie and I will watch. You, Jacob and Bella can hang out,”

Chief Swan? Were they really that good friends that they were going to watch a football game together? 

“ You can watch your superheroes later,” Liz said. “But--” Mia started,” No buts,” Liz interrupted her. “Fine,” Mia pouted and finished her dinner in silence. Sure, she liked Jake, he was funny. She didn’t know Bella but she was like a zombie for the past few months and Mia would probably feel uncomfortable around her. 

She got up from the table and motioned to go to her room. “Also, can you drop the medicine to your grandma? She has a cold,” Liz said. Mia stopped and stomped to the counter to pick up the bag. “Why can’t you do it?” 

“You know why,” Liz answered. Mia sighed and walked to her room. She picked up her phone and called the girls to give them the news. They had to change their tickets and it would probably cost them more. 

Mia knocked on her grandmother’s door. Her grandma, Madeline, and Mia weren’t that close. She only visited them a few times when they were in Seattle. Mia got to know her more when they got back to Forks. 

“Amelia, dear, welcome,” Madeline opened the door. “Hey grandma,” she smiled, “I’m here to drop these off. Mom says you need them,” 

Madeline stepped aside. “Alright, get inside. I’ll get you a cup of tea,” she ordered. Mia knew there was no point in trying to argue with her. She got in and texted her mother to pick her up from here. She had Olivia drive her to her grandmothers after school. 

“Thanks, grandma,” she said and sat down. Madeline walked inside a couple of minutes later with her tea. “So, tell me, how are things going?” she asked. Mia shrugged as she took a sip. “You know, the same old. School is hard,” 

Madeline smiled knowingly. “ I bet, but you’ll miss this in the future,” she said. Mia nodded and smiled. Her eyes diverted to the photos hanging on the wall behind her grandma. There were various photos of her grandparents, of her mom and a couple of her. Mia never met her grandfather but he had the same dark skin tone as Billy, Jake, Embry and Quil. He had shoulder length black hair. 

“ Grandma, can I ask you something?” Mia spoke up excitedly. Madeline nodded. “Who were my mom’s friends when she was younger?” she asked. Her grandma pouted and drank from her cup. “There were many, Liz was very popular. When she was younger she was very good friends with that kid in the reservation. Billy. As she got older, I lost track of it,”

“Hmm,” Mia answered and took a sip. She loved her mom but Mia felt like there was something she wasn’t telling her. Madeline proceeded to tell a few stories of Liz’s teenage and childhood years. 

“Do you know who my father is?” Mia let out. She liked hearing stories about her mom but this was something that bugged her for a long time. She didn’t really feel the absence of her father much but she sometimes wondered.

Liz was a very good mother, Mia would never oppose that, but whenever she tried to get information on him, Liz wouldn’t tell her. She wouldn’t ask about it much because Liz got upset. 

“ What did Liz tell you?” Madeline asked instead. “Nothing,” she replied, “That’s why I’m asking you,” Madeline shook her head. “This is something you should talk with her, not me,” she replied instead. 

Mia sighed loudly and finished her glass. Then they heard a honk. “Must be mom,” Mia murmured. She got up and got her bag and coat. Madeline got up after her and they walked to the door together. 

“Hi mom,” Liz said nonchalantly from the car. Madeline didn’t answer her and gave her a glare. Mia pressed her lips together. “Anyway, thanks for the tea grandma, take care,” she said. Madeline smiled at her, “Thank you dear,” she kissed her cheeks. 

Mia walked to the car and got inside. “How long is this barbeque going to take?” she asked. “I don’t know, we’ll roll with it,” Liz answered. “Why?” Mia shrugged, “ I was supposed to the geography essay on the weekend but since the plans have changed, I’ll start it tonight,” Liz smiled. “ I’m sure you can manage it,”

The drive over to the Swan house didn’t take that long. They reached their destination in a few minutes. Charlie’s police car was parked outside alongside a rusty red truck. There was a newer black one close to them.

After parking the car they got outside. By the time they reached the door it was already open. Charlie was standing there in normal clothing, jeans with a flannel. “Hey Charlie, we’re not late right?” 

Charlie smiled. “Not that much. Welcome,” he said and stepped aside so that Mia and Liz could enter. Mia gave him a small smile and escaped inside, she was still not comfortable around him and their incident last week made her anxious. 

They found Billy and Jake inside. They were seated and the TV was on. Liz went ahead and sat next to Billy’s chair and they got to chatting. Jake smiled at Mia. “Have you met Bella?” Charlie asked Mia, suddenly appearing behind her. 

“ Uhm, I know her from school,” she answered. Since Bella was a year older and transferred last year, they never shared any classes. “Well, I think it’d be nice if you two became friends, she could really use that,” Charlie grunted. 

Mia forced out a smile. She didn’t have a grudge against Bella but she felt like they didn’t have anything in common. Plus, there was the whole state she was in since the Cullens left which made her more intimidating. She even stopped hanging out with her group of friends at school. Cait had bickered about it, saying she would have never done that and instead flirt with Mike. 

“Sure, Mr.Swan,” she replied. “Bells!” Charlie called out. Bella walked out of the kitchen and Mia caught Jake’s face lightening up. “I’m almost done preparing the meat,” Bella said without emotion. 

Charlie put a hand around her shoulder. “That’s alright, I can take care of the rest. Have you met Lizzy’s daughter?” he asked. Mia caught that all of her mom’s old friends were calling her Lizzy. 

Bella looked up at Mia. “Not officially,” she murmured. “Hi, I’m Mia,” she introduced herself and smiled. Bella nodded, “Bella,” she replied. Charlie looked between them and sighed. “I’ll go take care of the… well,” he muttered and walked away. 

The three of them, Mia, Bella and Jake, were standing in the hallway. Mia turned to Jake. “Are you going to watch the game as well?” Jake shrugged. “Nah, I’m sure my old man will tell me the highlights on the drive back,” 

Bella looked at Jake. “Do you know each other?” she asked and Mia heard a hint of emotion in her voice. Jake nodded. “Yeah, we met last week,” Mia moved her head in agreement with him. 

“You… you’re, uhm, a year younger, right?” Bella muttered, she looked uncomfortable. Just like Mia was feeling. “Yeah,” she replied. “I’ll go and prepare the barbeque,” Bella said. “I’ll help,” Jake eagerly said. 

Mia walked inside the living room and sat next to her mom. “I hear we caused a bit of a trouble with your plans,” Billy said. Mia shrugged. “Yeah… It’s okay though, don’t worry,” she said to him.

“I’m glad, I think Bella and you could be friends,” he said. Her mom smiled and nodded. “Uhm, sure,” she answered. Both Charlie Swan and Billy said the same thing which came a bit bizarre to Mia. 

Charlie walked out of the kitchen holding a tray with meat. “I think it’ll be just in time for the game,” he called out. Liz got up. “I’ll help,” Mia and Billy were left together. “ I didn’t know you and Chief Swan were friends as well,” 

Billy chuckled. “Yeah, well, your mother was the one who introduced us in the first place. We were probably about your age. Been friends since that,” he answered. Mia nodded. “Nice, it must be nice to have friends for that long,” 

“It is,” Billy answered. Mia focused on the screen, the news outlet. The only person she felt fully comfortable around besides her mom was Jake and both of them were away doing something. 

She sat in silence for a while, occasionally talking and answering Billy’s questions until the food was ready. Liz, Charlie and Billy were in the living room together, watching the game. The kids were in the kitchen, eating in silence. 

Bella finished her food quickly, she got the smallest portion too, and got up with her plate. “I’ll go clean the grill,” she informed them and walked out. Jake pouted and kept on eating his food. 

“Dude, you have a crush on her, don’t you?” Mia snickered to him. Jake shushed him. “She can hear you!” Mia chuckled. “You’re not even going to deny it?” 

Jake shrugged. “You won’t tell her, will you?” he started, “Plus, Embry and Quil say I suck at hiding it and the only person that doesn’t realize it is her, so what even is the point?” 

“I hear she’s still hung up on her ex,” Mia said and took a bite. Jake gave her a look. “What? People talk at school,” she replied. They really did. 

Jake sighed and leaned back on his chair. “My dad doesn’t like her ex… or his family,” he said. “Why?” Mia asked, her mom liked Dr.Cullen enough. “It’s just fiction to me, but dad believes the legends,” 

Mia furrowed her brows. “Legends?” she asked. Jake chuckled. “Oh, yeah, right. Forgot you didn’t know anything,” Mia hit his shoulder jokingly. “The tribe’s legends. Stuff like our ancestors were wolves, that his family were the enemy and all. Sounds straight out of a movie,” 

“Your dad really likes stories,” Mia said. Jake took a deep breath. “Yeah, tell me about it,” he let out and continued his food. “She wasn’t always like this, you know. I mean, she was never the cheerful one or anything like that, but she wasn’t this empty either. It hasn’t been Bella since September,” Mia upper her eyebrows. She didn’t want to comment since she didn’t Bella that much. “Cullen messed her up good,” she silently commented and continued her food. 

After they were done with their food they joined their parents. Bella was still away, cleaning the grill. Charlie’s face fell when he realized Bella wasn’t with them. Jake and Mia sat next to them and started watching the game. 

Mia took out her phone and caught up on all the messages on their group chat. Jack had realized what Cait had done to his car and was furious. Mia joined in on the chat and they started gossiping. 

She was texting for a good fifteen minutes or so. When she looked up again Bella was in the living room with them. She was so silent that Mia didn’t realize that. The game gave a break and Charlie turned down the volume. 

“Mia, did you invite Bella for next week?” Liz asked. Mia gulped. Why did her mom had to put her out like that? “Uhm, not yet,” she replied. Charlie looked at Liz. “What’s next week?” he asked. 

Liz smiled. “It’s Mia’s birthday. She’s inviting a few of her friends over to our house for it,” she explained. Charlie turned to her daughter. “Sounds fun,” he said, looking at her. Bella took a deep breath. 

“Yeah, uhm, you can come if you want,” Mia stuttered. She wasn’t prepared for it. Bella pressed her lips together. “What day is it going to be?” she asked. “Friday,” Mia replied. “Oh… I have a midterm on Monday… and two reviews to write. So… I don’t think I could make it,” 

Mia nodded. As far as she knew, there were no exams on Mondays, but it was obvious Bella didn’t want to be there. She wasn’t going to push her, not when she didn’t even know her much. 

Charlie pouted and turned back toward the screen. Just then Mia’s phone started ringing. “Excuse me,” she said and walked outside of the house. She left the door open a bit so that she could enter after. 

It was Olivia and Cait on a conference call. “ YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE WHAT THAT PIECE OF SHIT DID!” Cait yelled on the phone. “What did he do?” Olivia asked calmly. “HE FLUSHED MY MAKE UP DOWN THE TOILET!” 

Mia gasped. “NO HE DIDN’T,” she replied. “YES HE FUCKING DID! I AM SO GOING TO KILL HIM!” Cait yelled. Olivia was chuckling. Mia looked inside and saw Bella and Jake going to the kitchen. 

“JUST WAIT UNTIL DAD GETS HOME, HE IS GOING TO PAY,” Cait yelled again, she was probably yelling because she was angry and that she wanted Jack to hear her. “ I am going to make him buy every single thing he ruined. That was TOO FAR!” 

Mia sighed. “Okay, try to calm down,” she said. “Calm down? CALM DOWN? MIA HE FLUSHED MY MAKE UP DOWN THE TOILET! THE ONES HE COULDN’T, HE POURED WATER OVER THEM!” 

“Mia’s right, you know your Dad is going to make this right. He might even make Jack give you his car as punishment. Look at to the bright side. You will have brand new make up and a car,” Olivia said. 

Cait stayed silent for a while. “Oh… uhm, I never thought of it like that,” she sighed. Olivia and Mia chuckled. “No need to get all hotheaded like you do, see?” Mia giggled. “There’s always a brightside,” 

Mia talked to her friends for a few more minutes then she slowly walked back inside. “I don’t know… I was hoping she’d say yes. She’s getting worse every day… I have no clue what to do. I think I’ll call Renee,” Charlie was saying silently to Billy and Liz. 

“Don’t you think knowing Mia would help her?” Liz asked. “ I don’t know… she might not handle it,” Charlie answered. Mia furrowed her brows, there was something going on here. She closed the door and the adults all turned to her. 

“The girls are alright?” Liz asked her. Mia nodded. “Yeah, they say hi,” she replied. Liz nodded. “Alright, they are in the kitchen,” she said and that was code for her to go and join them. Mia did as she was told. 

Jake was sitting at the table and Bella was doing the dishes. They were silent. Mia sat next to Jake. “So, uhm, Jake’s coming to the party too. Are you sure you can’t make it?” she asked. It was obvious Charlie was talking about Bella just a minute ago and Mia was sad to hear that. Bella and her weren’t friends but she heard enough about Bella that she wasn’t fine. 

“Yeah, we could go together,” Jake offered. Bella turned to them. “I don’t know… I’m not really good with crowds,” she murmured. “It won’t be that crowded,” Mia automatically said, she was trying. 

Bella pressed her lips together and looked down. Mia glanced at Jake and motioned with her eyes to help. “Well, I would be there. My friends, Embry and Quil, they’ll be there too,” Bella looked up. “I’ll try to see if I can make it?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello! I'm sorry for not uploading sooner, school is/was killing me :///// Luckily, all of my midterms are over so I should be able to update more often!

“Happy birthday my love!” Liz barged into Mia’s room. Mia opened her eyes and whimpered. “Since it’s my birthday, can’t you let me sleep?” she groaned. Liz chuckled. “Can’t, I need to leave in twenty minutes and wanted to celebrate with you,” 

Mia sighed and turned on the bed. “Fine, I’ll be in the kitchen in five,” she said. Liz walked out and Mia sat on the bed with her eyes closed. She slowly opened them and went to the bathroom. She washed her face and re-did the pony tail that got messed up during her sleep. 

Her mom threw her arms around Mia the second she stepped inside and started to kiss her. “Can’t believe you’re seventeen. I love you so much,” Liz was saying. “You say that every year, mom,” Mia giggled, “ I love you too,” 

“Because you keep growing up every year,” Liz replied and kissed her one last time. “I made some pancakes, special birthday edition,” she smirked. “Yes,” Mia cheered and sat down at the table.She might have had to wake up earlier than she intended but her mom’s pancakes made it all up. 

They ate their breakfast together, making jokes and bantering like they did. “I should be home around tomorrow afternoon,” Liz said at the end. She picked up the night shift like they agreed. “Okay,” 

Mia went to her room after breakfast and started getting ready for school. She got dressed and did make up. Before she was done the doorbell rang. “Door!” Liz called out. “I’m on it,” Mia replied and left to go open it. 

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR FAVORITE SAGITTARIUS!” Cait and Olivia yelled at the same time. Before they finished their screaming Mia was squashed between their bodies. “Thank you,” Mia giggled. 

Liz was standing on the archway with a smile on her face. “Well, now that your two other halves are here, I can go to work,” she said. The girls smiled at her. “We’ve got it covered, boss,” Cait said to her. 

They went to Mia’s room so that she could complete her makeup. Once she was done both of her friends were grinning. “We thought we’d be too busy tonight so we decided to give you your gift now,” Olivia said. “Not to be dramatic but if you don’t like it I will literally kill my self,” Cait added. 

“Sure not dramatic at all,” Mia smirked as she took the package out of their hands. There was a Captain America t-shirt, a book series that Mia wanted to read but didn’t have the time to buy and a bracelet. The bracelet had a little heart in the middle and the letters MOC were engraved in it. 

Mia looked up as her eyes started getting teary. “I love you so much,” she said. Olivia reached out her wrist. “Look, we got the same ones as well, we’ll match!” she said excitedly. “That was the reaction I wanted!” Caitlyn cheered. 

Mia sat next to them on her bed and gave them a hug. “You’re making me cry, thank you,” she said. Normally, as every individual, Mia liked her birthday. It was the one day on Earth where she could get away with everything she wanted and that she was the center of attention without any boundaries. 

But the one thing she hated about birthdays was the excessive amount of ‘Thank you’ you had to say. But this one, it came from inside, she truly did mean it. 

“ I knowwww, we are the best friends ever,” Cait smirked and hugged the girls tighter. “Yes, you are,” Mia chuckled. “And since we are such good best friends, we are providing your transportation,” Cait winked and dangled the keys she was holding. 

Mia squinted her eyes. “Are those…” she murmured and Cait nodded. “She has his car as punishment until the end of the day. He’ll drive us after school,” Olivia explained. Mia couldn't help but smirk. “Great,”

When they arrived at school Jack was waiting at the parking lot. He had his arms crossed. “Keys,” he almost hurled toward Cait. “Here,” she giggled and threw them toward his hand. Jack rolled his eyes. 

“Be here at 3, I won’t wait a minute more,” he sighed. “Okay,”Cait replied and walked away. Mia and Olivia followed her with smiles. Cait’s dad was angry about what Jack did so for the past week his car was used by Caitlyn. 

The day went by fast, a couple people who were friends of Mia celebrated her birthday and Mia’s former best friends from Seattle called her. They weren’t as they used to be because of the distance but they called each other on their birthdays. 

Before last period Mia and Olivia were in the bathroom before the class. They were touching up on their make-up when Bella walked out of one of the stalls. She had puffy red eyes but Mia decided not to comment on it. 

She gave Bella a smile when their eyes met. Bella smiled uncomfortably. “It’s your birthday today, right?” she asked. Her voice was hoarse. Mia nodded. “Happy birthday,” she pressed her lips together.

“Thanks… Are you gonna make it tonight?” Mia asked. Bella put her hand on the stall and glanced at the mirror. “I don’t think so,” she muttered. Mia wet her lips with her tongue. “Okay,” 

As soon as Bella left Olivia shot her a look. “What was that all about? Since when do you know her to invite her to the party?” Mia shrugged and kept applying her gloss. “Our parents are friends,” 

Jack waited for the girls as he promised and dropped them off at Mia’s. The first task of the girls was to collect all the valuable objects throughout the house and lock them in Liz’s room. That room would be locked until the end of the party. 

After that they walked to the nearest market to get some chips and other junk food to be eaten throughout the night. The only things left were to wait for Jack and his friends to bring the drinks, get ready and wait for everyone else. 

Olivia was making Cait’s hair when the doorbell rang. Mia left the room to go get it. It was Jack and his friends. They were holding two kegels. Mia stepped aside so that they could enter. “Put one here and the other one to the kitchen,” Jake instructed his friends. 

“Happy birthday shorty,” he squeezed Mia’s cheeks with one hand while grinning. “Thanks,” she muttered since his hand was still on her face. He chuckled and let go of her. Mia looked after him and sighed for a moment before going back to her room.

“Are you done yet? I don’t want to be alone with Jackass and his friends,” Mia muttered. Cait’s nickname for her brother was Jackass. It was a pun and an insult in one word, brilliant. “One more minute, I’m almost done,” Olivia replied. 

Cait was spending extra care on herself because of Mike and his potential of showing interest in her. Jack liked messing with her to the ends of the world but if he sensed Mike was hitting on his sister he’d probably have a fuss. He didn’t like Mike because of something that happened between them about a girl two years ago. 

“Okay,” Mia sighed and walked out. In addition to Jack there were four more people. They had already sat down on the couch and opened a bag of chips. Mia noticed the beer bottles on their hands a minute later. 

“Birthday girl!” Jack cheered. Mia rolled her eyes and sat at the edge of one of the seats. “You’re not going to do that through the night, right?” she asked. Jack grinned. “I had to listen Madam Satan talk about it for hours with your third for weeks, so yes, I’ll return the favor,” 

Mia scoffed and leaned forward to get chips while flipping her middle finger at him. Luckily the girls came out as she was eating the chips. Cait glanced at the bottle in her brother’s hand. “Go easy, you’re the designated driver,” she warned. 

Jack shrugged. “I don’t remember agreeing to that,” he said nonchalantly and took a sip. Cait sighed loudly. “You lie better to mom and dad, plus, it’s your car again, you’ll let me drive again?” 

Jack clicked his tongue. “Fine,” he breathed out. “This one for the whole night,” he continued as he rose up the one he was holding. Cait smiled and winked at Mia. 

Cait and Olivia had managed to let the word out to almost everyone, everyone excluding loners and outcasts like Bella, so there would be many people. Mia only hoped it wouldn’t get too much out of hand and her mom would find out somehow. 

Soon people started to arrive and the house filled up with teenagers. 

It was around nine when Mia spotted Jake, Quil and Embry. “Heyy,” she made her way over to them. Embry and Quil gave her a head nod. “Happy birthday,” they murmured. Jake glanced around the room with a grin then turned back to Mia. “It’s not going to be that crowded, huh?” He said, reminding her of her words to Bella. 

Mia giggled. “Yeah, well… Things got out of hand?” Jack chuckled. “Well, we can’t stay long because of the long drive but let’s make the most of it,” Mia nodded. “Cmon, I’ll get your drinks,” 

“I’m the driver,” Jake said when Mia tried to hand him a drink. “Plus, I think my dad would get a bit suspicious if I return from your little ‘get together’ reeking alcohol,” Mia nodded, “Holy shit, you’re right,” 

Embry gently touched Mia’s shoulder. “Where is the bathroom?” he asked. “The second door in the hall,” Mia replied. Embry and Quil got lost in the crowd. “Dumbasses been holding since the drive, about to explode,” Jake sneered. 

Mia chuckled. “Well, good thing you are here now,” she said. Jake was looking around while they were leaning on the kitchen counter. “She didn’t come, huh?” Jake asked. Mia nodded. “Yeah, sorry buddy,” 

Jake shrugged. “It’s alright, didn’t expect her to,” he replied. “She didn’t say anything yesterday,” he added. Mia furrowed her brows. “Yesterday?” 

“Yeah, she came by my house. Brought me two motorcycles for me to fix, one for her and one for me,” he explained. “Wow,” Mia said, “Didn’t know she was into that,” Jake’s lips twirled. “Neither did I,” 

Embry and Quil came back. “Alright, I’ve got three things to tell you. One, happy birthday. Two, we had to pee outside. Three, because someone puked on the bathroom floor and the toilet,” Quil said. 

Mia took a deep breath. “As long as it didn’t get on mom’s flowers it’s fine. I’ve gotta go,” she let out and handed her drink to Embry as she made her way through the crowd to the toilet. 

There were a few people outside the bathroom. “ People, let me in,” she scrambled and used her shoulders to get inside. There was a girl puking in the toilet. Jack and another guy was there. 

Jack looked at his friend. “Tyler, get rid of those people outside,” he said. Tyler nodded and walked outside. “Is she alright?” Mia asked. Jack’s one hand was on her back and the other was holding her hair. 

“Yeah, she had a little bit too much to drink on an empty stomach. Is there somewhere we can put her for a while? She can’t go home like this,” he said. Mia nodded. “Yeah, we can put her in my room,” 

Once she was done puking Jack got her in his arms. “Lead the way,” he grunted. Mia did as she was told. She opened her room door and let him get inside. Jack gently put the girl’s body on the bed. 

Mia went back to the bathroom and got the supplies to clean the vomit up. Thank god she was a bit tipsy because normally vomiting would make her throw up as well. She took it a deep breath from her mouth and got to working. 

Jack walked inside a few minutes later. “I’ll help you clean up,” he said. “You?” Mia scoffed as he kneeled down next to her. Jack rolled his eyes. Mia took another deep breath because since she scoffed she had to let go of the previous breath and now the vomit’s smell made her nauseous. 

“Yeah,” he said. “ Devil’s Spawn used to throw up a lot until she was twelve or something. She has a sensitive stomach. I helped mom a lot,” Mia raised her right eyebrow in surprise, Cait never mentioned that, but she didn’t comment and kept on cleaning up. 

They cleaned the floor and the toilet in silence. “I never thought about it,” he said. “Never thought of what?” Mia asked, still not breathing. Jack looked up at her and smirked. “The boy band posters, sure, Marvel stuff and books too but not stuffed animals,” 

Mia tried to hold in her chuckle. There was a time where she was obsessed with them so her grandparents had sent her one every year for her birthday. Her grandpa made them by hand so when they were moving Mia kept the ones he did. 

“Yeah, they were gifts,” she answered. The smell of the vomit had started to fade away and was replaced with the excessive amount of the cleaning products. “Huh,” Jack smirked. “What? Stop,” Mia chuckled. 

Jack laughed. “I’m not doing anything,” he replied. “You are laughing, stop that!” Mia shot back. They laughed together. 

“Okay, I have an offer,” Jack said when they were done. “What?” she asked back. “I’m willing to call a truce. You’ll be the negotiator between the Devil and me,” 

Mia chuckled. “And why would I do that?” she asked as she put the products away. She turned to him, “Scared?” 

“ Of course not,” he scoffed. “But I don’t have the Dad card like she does and I need my car for the rest of the year,” he continued. “I’ll even get you my bio notes as a sign of good will,” 

That was not a bad bargain. Plus, he really didn’t act like the Jackass he usually was tonight. “I’ll see what I can do,” she smiled. “Great, thanks shorty,” Jack said and got on the move.

“But you’ll stop with the nickname,” she called after him. He turned around at the edge of the door. “Not until you three stop calling me Jackass, shorty,” he smirked and got lost. Mia laughed to herself and went outside. 

When she stepped outside Olivia was there. She grabbed her arm and started to pull her. “Cmon, you have got to see this,” she said way too loudly. Or perhaps the tipsiness had gone away when Mia cleaned the vomit. 

Olivia pulled her to the door of the kitchen and pointed inside. Cait was speaking to Mike. His arm was on the wall and he was leaning toward Caitlyn. “She is having an internal heart attack,” 

“Holy shit,” Mia’s eyes widened and she grinned. “Best to keep Jack occupied,” she added. Olivia smirked. “He already is,” she said and pointed to the living room. Mia turned. Jack was talking to another senior and had his flirting smile on. “Good luck to that poor girl,” 

The next morning Mia woke up with a headache. She had set up an alarm to wake up so she would have the time to clean up the house before her mom got home. She got out of the bed whining. She had slept in her mom’s bed and the girls were sleeping in hers. 

She got inside her room and sat on her bed. She started to shake the girls. “Wake up! It’s 10.30!” she said way too loud than necessary. “Let me die,” Cait groaned. 

“Nooooooo,” Mia muttered. “You still have to tell us what happened last night with Mike, remember?” she continued. Cait groaned and sat up, her eyes still closed. She put her hands to her eyes to wake up. 

Mia leaned toward Olivia. “Olivia! Olivia! Olivia! Olivia!” she chanted loudly close to her ears. Olivia grabbed the side of her pillow and pressed it on her face. “I’m not Olivia, go away,” 

Caitlyn opened her eyes. “ I got this,” she said silently to Mia. “OLIVIAAAAAAAAAAA!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. Olivia shot up in fear as her eyes flashed open. “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you,” 

A bit after noon the girls had finally finished cleaning the place up. Olivia sat down to the table in the kitchen. Mia had made them coffee. “Mom’s gonna pick us up in thirty,” she announced.

Olivia’s mom would drive Cait to her house as well. “Okay,” she mumbled. Mia took a large sip of her coffee. “I’m going to bed and never waking up again,” she groaned. “I’m never drinking again,” Cait said. “I’m never sleeping over again,” Olivia added. 

Like she said, as soon as Olivia’s mom came and the girls left Mia went to her bed. She shot a quick text to her mom saying she was going to sleep and then put her phone in silent. She fell asleep shortly after hitting the pillow. 

Mia awoke to hushed voices fighting. She got out of bed and walked outside. The sounds were coming from the kitchen. “No, mom, not yet!” Liz hissed. “How long is this going to go on, Elizabeth?”

“She asked me about him the other day, how long are you going to keep lying to your daughter? He has a right to know her and she has a right to know him. And her sister. Gosh, she has a sister and she doesn’t even know it!” 

Mia’s eyes widened in shock. She stepped into the kitchen room with a fake cough. Her mom and grandma were in the kitchen. Both frowning. Liz forced a smile. “Darling, grandma dropped by to give you your gift,” 

Mia’s face was plain. “How much did you hear?” Liz sighed when she didn’t answer. “Enough,” Mia answered. She could feel her blood being pumped to her fingers and cheeks. It was like her heart was beating at her mouth. 

“You’re talking about my father, aren’t you?” Mia asked the two of them. Madeline looked at Liz then to Mia. “Yes,” she said, “I think it’s time you know him too, it’s time… especially, especially when he’s right here,” 

Mia raised her eyebrows. “Here? My father is here?” she asked her. Mia glared at her mother. “He’s here and alive? And you know him? And you didn’t tell me?” 

Madeline sighed. “I told you she was going to react like this,” she muttered under her breath. Liz glanced at her mother and took a few steps toward Mia. “Baby, listen to me, it’s complicated and I didn’t know how to tell you since it’s always been the two of us,”

“No, mom! Don’t!” Mia yelled, tears rushing to her eyes. “I just want you to tell me who he is and nothing else!” she continued. A single tear dropped and Mia wiped it with the back of her hand. 

She looked up at her mom, standing firm. “Tell me,” she ordered. Liz pressed her lips together. “You already know him… I’ve been trying to get you two acquainted before I told you,” 

Mia took a moment to think. She gasped as the realization hit her. “Chief Swan?” she asked. Liz’s expression was enough to say that she was right. “Mia--” Liz started but Mia didn’t listen to her and turned around. 

She moved fast. Grabbed her mom’s car keys and shut the door behind her. She ran to the car, got inside and locked the door. She turned the engine on and started driving as tears ran down. 

Charlie Swan, the chief of police of their town, was her father. But he was already a father. Oh, god, she had a sister. Bella. Bella was her sister. That’s why her mom and Billy wanted them to be friends. 

As things started to make sense and Mia felt like her world was falling apart, she drove.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of my paper and presentation deadlines are for the following two weeks. After that I'll update more often, I promise :) Hope you like it

Mia found herself on the La Push road. She wasn't following a specific set of directions, it was lucky she didn't get into an accident while crying, and now she was on the La Push reservation.

The only place she knew how to go was the Black's house. So she went there. She needed answers but she couldn't face Chief-- her father yet and she was mad at her mom. So the next best alternative was Billy. Both of their friend.

Mia pulled up in front of their house. She closed the car door a bit too harsh. Her hands were pressed on the window and she started sobbing. She was holding the car keys in her right hand and she started to hit the car door.

"Mia?" she heard the familiar voice of Billy. She turned around. "You knew," she said. It wasn't a question, of course, of course, he knew. How could he not?

Billy took a deep breath and pressed his lips together. "Come inside," he said and pushed his chair backward. "I'll make you a cup of tea," he offered. "No," Mia snapped, "No need,"

"Alright," Billy said slowly and pushed his wheelchair inside after closing the door. Mia sat on the sofa and Billy stopped in front of her. "Jake's at back with his friends and Bella,"

When he said 'Bella', Mia's head shot right up. Bella. Bella Swan. Her half-sister. Her sister. She had a sister and she didn't even know about it.

"Look... I don't know much. Your mom left town so abruptly... I didn't even know you existed until she told me after you were back. She asked for my help on how to tell Charlie,"

Mia bit down her bottom lip. "He didn't know either?" she asked. Billy shook his head. "No... he found out a couple of weeks ago,"

"Oh," Mia frowned. That would probably explain why he came over to their house before she met Billy or went to the Swan house for the barbeque. Why he acted all weird around Mia.

Mia ran her hand through her hair. The hair, of course! It was the same color as Bella's hair. The lengths were different but they were the same color. They had similar skin tones, hers wasn't as unhealthy and pale as Bella but it was similar. And their face structures... How could she not see it before?

"Does she know?" Mia asked instead. That question seemed to shock Billy, he looked like he was expecting something else. "No... Charlie doesn't think it's best for her to know it right now... you know," Mia nodded in response.

Billy took a deep breath. "I think it's best that... you talk about this with Liz. She has the answers you're looking for," he said. "I know," Mia snapped.

"I understand you're frustrated, angry even... but it's her you need to talk to," he continued. Mia looked up at him. She knew he was right but she didn't want to see her mom now. She had lied, for years.

Every time she would ask about her father she would lie and say she didn't know where he was, that it was a one-night stand and she didn't know him. Mia never knew anything about him except for he had dark brown hair and that he was a one night stand of her mom.

In reality, her mom was friends with him! They had moved to Forks and she kept lying to her for three years when her father was right under her nose. Frustrated, angry, pissed... It didn't cover what Mia was feeling.

But goddamn, Billy was right and the only person who could answer the questions Mia had were the one person who never answered. She grunted and got up. "Thanks," she muttered silently under her breath and walked outside to get inside her car.

At least she had the car drive to calm herself down.

Mia stopped in front of her house. She turned off the car but didn't get out just yet. She sat inside, taking deep breaths and trying to clear her mind.

So far she knew three things. First, Charlie Swan was her dad. Second, she had a sister, a real sister whom she knew (not very good but still). Finally, her mom had been keeping this secret for seventeen years.

With one final breath, she got out and slowly walked to the door. She softly knocked on the door since she didn't have time to grab her keys before she stormed out. She heard her mother's heavy and fast steps to the door.

"Oh, Mia!" Liz shrieked and hugged her. Liz wrapped her arms around her daughter even though Mia didn't reciprocate. "I was so worried!"

" I called Olivia and Caitlyn to see if they knew where you were," Liz said. Mia shrugged and stepped away from her mother. "Is Grandma still here?" she asked instead. "No... she left a bit after you did," Liz answered. Mia looked up at her mom. "We need to talk,"

Liz nodded. "Yes, we do," she replied and went to the kitchen. Mia followed her and sat on the opposite side of the table. Liz was holding a cup of tea with both of her hands. " I was twenty-five," she started, " I had finished nursing school a few years back and I worked for a year in Tacoma. I was laid off to cut the costs so I was unemployed. My parents found me an opening in here so I came back,"

Mia bit the insides of her cheeks, she already knew about this much. " I also had a boyfriend at that time, Tom. I told you about him," Liz said. Mia nodded. " We were trying the long-distance thing, he was an intern at a law firm in New York. We both worked very hard and were busy. ı thought we were compatible,"

"Anyway, I moved back here after my parents got me the job. I wasn't happy, I was supposed to be an adult and my parents were still taking care of me. I was depressed, I didn't feel enough. Most of my friends had already figured their own lives out, some married, some out in the world. I felt less. Every day I got worse and worse. The only things I had were Tom and the little circle of friends, Billy, Quil, Harry, and Charlie. But they were married too, we were no longer teenagers and Tom was always busy,"

Mia took in a deep breath, her mother's voice was trembling as she remembered those times.

"It was March, a little over a year after I was back. Tom and I barely talked and I counted myself lucky if we got more than a minute on the phone. Charlie called, his wife was leaving him. We all went over to his house. You see, Charlie and Renee, his ex-wife, they happened so fast, they got married after a few weeks they met. Their marriage fell apart fast. Renee got his daughter and left. Charlie was devastated. Both Billy and Harry had kids so they couldn't stay long, I offered to stay with Charlie. I was supposed to talk with Tom that night so I called him to let him know I couldn't. I knew he'd be relieved but I was still trying to hold on to the relationship. Someone else picked up the phone... A woman. She asked me why I was calling his fiance,"

Mia gasped with the revelation. "He was cheating on you?" she asked. Liz nodded. "Yes, they met in our senior year, and after I got the job in Tacoma... Tom got close to her. He didn't want to break it off with me in case things didn't work out with her," she answered. "Asshole," Mia muttered under her breath.

"I was devastated when I found out. We were apart for more than two years but I stayed faithful. Learning he didn't... I was devastated. Charlie and I got drunk. We were both hurting so much. He already had the burden of his parents and Renee. I was feeling not enough and just found out my boyfriend of four years was cheating on me. We weren't thinking clearly and we slept together,"

"The next morning, he seemed to regret it. He still loved Renee and he felt like he was betraying her. I went to my house and cried. I was even more depressed. I stayed away from him and he from me. Two weeks later a friend from nursing school called. She was working at a hospital in Seattle and she said that they were going to have an opening. She knew I was looking for a job since Tacoma. I told her I was going to think about it,"

"I got a call from Tom and he explained everything to me. I broke up with him and told him to never contact me again. Apparently, his fiancee wondered why I called him, someone who she never even heard of, and he had to tell her. Their relationship was over too. Tom was apologizing and wanted me back. I declined. He said he would transfer to a new firm in Seattle so that he would be closer to me. I still declined. Then, I found out I was pregnant. The only person I was with was Charlie. I didn't know how to tell him, he already had a child and he was devastated. Then, as I decided no matter what he deserved to know, his mother got hospitalized. I went there to support him and to tell him. He didn't want me there, his mother had a stroke and they weren't hopeful she was going to make it. He told me he didn't want to see me for a while until he could figure it all out on his own,"

" I don't blame him, he was going through so much. I left the hospital crying, it was an off day. I was already hormonal and I was feeling like shit. My friend from Seattle called again and said if I didn't accept the offer then I would lose the position. I was feeling already like a burden to my parents, I was feeling so alone so... I accepted the job. I told my parents I got an offer from somewhere better, grabbed my things, and hit on the road. I gave my resignation to the hospital in Forks on the road and went straight to Seattle,"

"I only gave a half explanation to my parents and none to the others. Billy and Harry called me a few times in the following weeks but I didn't reply, I knew I couldn't keep my pregnancy a secret from them and Charlie already had too much to deal with. I didn't want to bother him. So... I started a new chapter in my life in Seattle. With you,"

Both Mia and Liz sat in silence. Mia was taking it all in. "Do you think it was the right decision?" Mia asked after a few moments. Liz took a sip and nodded. " Yes. Charlie lost both his parents after a few years when you were just a baby. I don't know if you remember, but we came back here to attend the funeral. Our mothers were friends. I was thinking of letting him know but he wasn't ready to hear it. I didn't bring you to the funeral because I didn't want you to see such a sad event at that age. Your grandfather and you stayed home. Mom and I went. That night your grandmother told me to wait longer until he was ready to think with a clear head. That, in our absence, he was still saddened after his ex-wife and parents. And now that his parents were dead, after his grief, he might be open to it,"

"So why wait this long?" Mia asked. Liz shrugged. "You were growing up and even though you asked about him, you weren't ready. I guess I got scared of the way you treated Kyle and Tyler," she answered.

Mia furrowed her brows. "I liked Kyle and Tyler," she shot. Liz chuckled. "You liked them enough to date me but you were always annoyed when they tried to act fatherly toward you. I was scared you wouldn't want a father figure in your life,"

"What changed then? Why did we move back here?" Mia asked. "Well... your grandma. She thought it was time both of you knew about it. How much I liked the big city didn't change the fact that it was hard to live there. We only had my salary as our income and as you know Seattle's pretty expensive. And after losing dad, I don't know, I guess I just wanted to feel close to him by moving here,"

It was true that Seattle was expensive, Mia couldn't argue with that. "But we moved three years ago, why didn't you tell me.. or him before?" Mia asked. Liz sighed. "Well, at first I wanted to wait a while so you would get adapted to here. You lived in Seattle your whole life. I didn't want to change your world completely right after we moved to such a different place. Then, I was trying to prepare myself. I knew you'd be mad and I wanted us to be okay a little longer. Also that I wanted you to grow a bit more so that you could understand my reasons better. Just when I was about to tell I learned that his daughter was coming to town. I didn't know how he would react. Your grandma and Billy were pressuring me to tell you guys. That's why your grandma and I weren't talking for months. Then, in September, I told Charlie. He was surprised, he didn't know. Then, we came up with a plan, to introduce you guys. I would tell you later once you got to know him,"

Mia nodded. They sat in silence again. "Do you hate me?" Liz asked finally. Mia shook her head. "No... but I'm mad at you," she replied. It was the truth, she could never hate her mom. Mia put her hands beneath her chin and looked outside the window to take a moment to think.

She spotted the police car stopping in front of their house. Charlie stepped out momentarily. "What is he doing here?" she asked, surprised. " I called him after you stormed out... I was worried," she sighed and got up to answer the door.

Mia felt her heart starting to beat faster. Her fingers started to tingle. She was going to meet her father. Granted, she did meet him before but she didn't know it was her father. This time, both of them knew what they were to each other.

She heard her mom answering the door and their muffled conversation. Liz was saying she was home now. And Charlie was saying Billy called him and said that she stopped by. Then, footsteps. Liz stopped at the door. "He wants to talk to you, only if you want to,"

Mia took a deep breath and nodded. She got up. Liz kissed the top of her head. "I'll be in my room to give you some privacy," she said. Mia nodded again. She slowly walked to the living room, her heart was like a drum in her ear.

Charlie was standing in the living room. His hands were on his belt. He looked up to her when she walked in. Mia waited for him to speak first, she didn't know what to say. "Hello," Charlie grunted. "Hi," Mia replied.

"We can sit if you want," Mia said after they stood there in silence for a minute. Charlie nodded and they sat down. This was one of the moments she always dreamed of but now that it was here she didn't know what to say.

" I don't know what to say... or where to start. This is all... new to me," Charlie muttered. Mia nodded. It was all new for her as well. "Do you regret it?" she asked. He seemed surprised by the question. "My mom told me about everything... and I was wondering whether you regretted it,"

Charlie took a deep breath. "I... I regret not knowing about it and, and not having met you sooner. What happened between Liz and I happened and... and I wish I knew before. I would have wanted to be there,"

"Me too," Mia said quietly. Charlie's lip twirled up. "Good, that's good," he said. "Now that you know too... I want to be in your life, if you want me too. I know that we can't make up for the years lost but... I'd like to be a part of your life. Even if you're not ready to have a father or not,"

Mia nodded. "I'd like that," she said. They would need time to catch up and get to know each other. She wanted to have a father. "We can start slowly," she added. Charlie seemed happy about it. He moved his head. "I'm glad,"

"Would you like to come over for dinner? I would like it if you and Bella could meet properly and that we could all be together," he asked. Mia took a deep breath. "I thought... uhm, I thought she didn't know about me,"

Charlie grunted. "She doesn't... yet. But she seems to get better and I plan to tell her. Unless you don't want me to?" he asked. Mia shook her head. "No, no, I'm okay with it," she replied. "Okay," he said. "Okay," she said.

Charlie got up. "Alright, so, uhm... I'll let you know, then?" he said. Mia nodded. "Okay," she replied. "Happy birthday, by the way," he said. Mia gave out a small smile. She forgot she had her birthday with the revelation. "Thanks,"

"Can I hug you?" Charlie asked quietly. He seemed afraid of the answer. "Uhm, sure," Mia answered. They both got up and Charlie covered her body with his arms. He was taller than her.

Mia felt weird. She was hugging her father. It didn't feel like she was hugging her mom but she didn't hate it. It was a weird feeling but she... liked it.

"Take care," Charlie said as the two of them were standing in the doorway. "You too," Mia replied. Charlie gave a small smile and walked out. Mia watched him until he got inside his car and then closed the door. She closed the door and took a deep breath.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Underage drinking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! So sorry I was gone! School was on my ass and I had too many deadlines. I only have finals left. So after this next two weeks I'll update more regularly!
> 
> Also Paul and the whole pack is gonna make an appearance soon enough so just sit tight!

Mia sat silently in the car. Her mom was driving her to the Swan house for their dinner. It was Christmas Eve. Mia would spend Christmas with her mom and grandma but Charlie wanted her to come over to officially meet with Bella so they picked Christmas Eve.

"Are you excited?" Liz asked. "I guess," Mia answered. "It will be fine, don't worry. Charlie already loves you so much," Mia couldn't help but smile at that. "Really?" she asked. Liz turned to her and smiled.

"I could pick you up once you're done. Or Charlie could probably drive you too. Just let me know baby," Liz said as they turned to the street that the Swan house was on. Mia nodded. "Will do mom,"

Liz stopped by the house. Mia took a deep breath and got out. Charlie had already opened the door by the time she made it there. "Welcome Mia," he said with a smile. She smiled back. "Bella's in the kitchen,"

They both walked to the kitchen. Bella was standing over the oven. "Is there anything I can help with?" Mia asked. Bella shook her head. "You can set the table... I guess," she muttered. Bella quickly pointed to where the plates and the rest were placed. Mia silently got to work.

Charlie had grabbed his beer and was watching the girls. " Do you like casserole?" he asked. Mia nodded as she was setting the table. "Sure," she replied. "Almost done," Bella announced.

Five minutes later they were all sitting down and starting to eat. Charlie was trying to make conversation. " Yeah, the last time in Seattle was for school. I'm on the debate team and we made it to state finals last year. We lost to Spokane," Mia explained to her father.

"That's great! Do you like it?" he asked. Mia nodded. "Yeah, I also did a bit of Model UN in freshman year. I really like those kind of stuff," she answered. " Model UN is a simulation for students to learn about UN and diplomacy, dad," Bella explained. Charlie "Oh," grunted.

Mia bit her cheek. She should have guessed Charlie might not have known what Model UN was. "I actually did a bit of Model UN myself back in Phoenix," Bella murmured. "Oh, really?" Mia asked in surprise, she just never seemed like that kind of type.

"You're also in.... uhm, student government, right?" Bella asked. "Yeah, since last year. I'm hoping to be the Student Council President next year. Would highlight my application to colleges," Mia answered. "Cool," Bella replied.

Charlie took a sip of his beer. "You sound busy," he said. "Yeah... It's all for college and I kind of like it," Mia replied. "You're already thinking of college?"Bella asked. Mia nodded. "Yeah, hoping to get into an Ivy League with a scholarship. So it'd be easier for mom,"

"Where are you going to apply to?" Mia asked her. Bella shrugged. "I don't know," she replied. "Ivy League... That's huge," Charlie said, leaning back on his chair. Mia smiled. "Yeah... Granted I don't fail Biology," she smirked. 

Charlie took a sip from his beer. "Well, Bells is good at biology. She can tutor you," he said. Bella's eyes widened and Mia bit down on her lip. Bella turned to their father. " You're good at Biology, aren't you?" he murmured. 

"Yeah, I guess," Bella answered. " I was in the advanced program back in Phoenix," she said to Mia. "Oh... nice," Mia replied. 

The rest of the dinner went by, mostly Charlie and Mia talking and Bella occasionally chiming it. When they were done eating Mia offered to help clean the dishes but Bella dismissed her. Mia followed her father to the living room. 

Charlie had opened up another bottle of beer and a re-run of last week's game was on. " Do you like watching football?" Charlie asked. Mia leaned on the chair. "Not really... It's too long and boring for me," she replied.

" But basketball's fine," she added. He smiled. " Yeah, I kinda like that more too," he glanced back at the kitchen than back to Mia. " Uh... Give Bella a bit of time, yeah?" he murmured. Mia pressed her lips together and nodded. 

Honestly she didn't expect Bella to warm up to her in a second. She knew it was gonna take time. All three of them needed time to adjust to this. Mia knew that. 

Bella joined them ten minutes later. They sat in silence and watched TV. Mia was getting more uncomfortable by each minute, she was nervous about saying the wrong thing or doing something wrong that could damage her new relationship with her family. 

"It's getting late, I should go back," she said after she gathered up the courage. It would take a while before she started feeling comfortable around her father and sister. "Yeah, sure," Charlie muttered. 

He left his bottle on the table. "I'll drive you, cmon," he said. Bella got up. " Dad no, you've been drinking," she said. Charlie furrowed his brows. "It's only a bottle Bells, it's fine," 

Bella shrugged. "You're the sheriff, you should be a role model," she said and took a deep breath, " I can drive her. I've gotta get gas anyway," she murmured. Mia was shocked at the offer and Charlie seemed the same. He looked between the girls. "Well, alright then," 

Charlie wished Mia a Merry Christmas and the girls got inside of Bella's truck. Mia was under pressure, she didn't really expect Bella to offer to drive her home. She was wondering how Bella felt about her but given her current state, she didn't want to push her. 

"Thanks for driving me home," she quietly said a couple of minutes into the drive. She saw Bella's fingers on the wheel tightening. "Sure, no problem," Bella replied. 

They stayed silent again. Mia took a deep breath. " I'm... I'm sorry if this was too much for you, or, or if I make you... uncomfortable," she said. 

Bella's finger clutched on the wheel even tighter. " I don't... don't, it's just a shocker," she replied. "Yeah," Mia whispered.

" I just... I never had a sister before... a real sister. I don't know what to make of it," Bella continued. Mia got the feeling she was talking about someone but didn't push it. "Yeah... I never had a sister before too," she replied. 

They shared a look and chuckled at the same time. 

Mia got the feeling that this was the first time Bella laughed in a long time. "Just give Charlie some time, he's trying," Bella said. Mia nodded. "Yeah," 

Bella stopped in front of Mia's house. "So... uhm, good night," she muttered. Mia forced out a smile. "Yeah, you too. Merry Christmas," she said. "Merry Christmas," 

Mia always celebrated Christmas with her mom. She never went to work on Christmas as it was their favorite holiday. But after moving to Forks and Mia became friends with Caitlyn and Olivia their traditions changed a bit. 

Caitlyn's parents would always go up to their cabin in the woods for New Years. They normally brought Caitlyn and Jake with them but after they grew up they started to stay behind and their parents went to cabin. 

So, for the past years, Mia and Olivia went to Caitlyn's for every New Years. Her mom was happy about it since she had to work on New Years and didn't want to leave Mia alone. And last year, after Caitlyn grew up enough she and Jake threw a party. 

This year was the same. 

Olivia picked up Mia and they were on their way to Caitlyn's. When they got there some of Jack's friends were already there. The girls went inside to Caitlyn's room. She was on her bed watching YouTube. 

" Took you long enough!" she huffed. Cait sat up on her knees on the bed. "Guess what?" she had her wicked grin on. " I bargained with Jack and... he invited Mike!" 

Mia gasped in surprise. " Shit, how did you do that?" Olivia asked. She looked genuinely surprised. " I promised to clean the house tomorrow after the party. You two are going to help me," 

Mia and Olivia shared a look. "Alright, fair enough," they said in unison. At Mia's party they talked but things didn't go further than a few sexual tension moments. Caitlyn was really hoping for more tonight. 

It was a bit after noon so it was early for the girls to start getting ready. "Should we order pizza and watch some Netflix?" Olivia asked. "Ooooh yes, the new Henry Cavill show is out!" Mia exclaimed. 

Thirty minutes later the girls were seated in the living room across the big TV with pizza's on their laps. The show was on. " SHUT UP!" Cait screamed at Jake and his friends who were making too much noise. 

Jake put up his middle finger without breaking away from the conversation that he was having. Caitlyn increased the volume of the TV. Mia could her her mumble curses at her brother under her breath. 

The girls ended up watching a couple of episodes before getting ready. Mia was restless, she could feel her blood jumping underneath her skin. She needed some release. She had been thinking about the evening with Charlie and Bella and her talk with Bella continuously. 

She briefly told her mom about the events but didn't talk much. Mia, her mom, Charlie and Bella had decided to keep the news to themselves for a while. Not that Charlie or Mia's mom was ashamed of anything, especially Charlie- he made that very clear, but they wanted to give the girls a little bit of space to process everything in their own time. Considering Bella was already fragile too. 

This was the first thing Mia hadn't told her best friends ever since they met. She never hid a secret from them, certainly not at this magnitude. She wanted to talk to them about it and vent and process her emotions... but she couldn't. 

It was eating her up. 

So, she was really looking forward to tonight. Tonight, she would let go of the constant replays inside her mind and her worries and all the overwhelming she had been feeling ever since she found out and just live in the moment. She needed that. 

Until then Mia had been playing it very well. Her friends hadn't suspected that she was anxious and not like herself. Maybe she could become an actor in the future if she was this good. Mia chuckled to the thought and decided to add the thought to her daydreaming fantasy list. 

Cait had snatched a bottle from Jack's stash and the girls did two rounds of shots before going out to join the party. Caitlyn's house's living room had turned into a disco, the lights were off and the speakers were blasting music. 

A bunch of people arrived when the girls started to get ready and in the meanwhile plenty had joined them as well. The girls hit the dance floor first. They danced together for about three songs before they made their way into the kitchen for drinks. 

They were standing in the kitchen with drinks in their hands when Caitlyn smirked. " Don't look but he's here!" she squealed silently. Olivia and Mia smiled but did as they were told. For fifteen seconds. Then they turned at the same time. 

" Well, what are you waiting for? Go!" Olivia said, gently pushing Cait toward where Mike Newton was standing. Cait faltered over her steps but managed to stand and took a breath. "Okay, okay, fine. I'm going," she sighed and put on her flirty smile as she made her way over to Mike. 

Mia and Olivia watched her for a moment before turning back not to make Cait laugh or cringe. " I'm giving Jake five minutes before he explodes," Olivia chuckled and took a sip. " I make it three," Mia replied and gestured her hand to the door where Jake had just entered. 

But it was like Jake didn't even see his sister flirting with his 'enemy'. His eyes landed on Olivia and Mia and he made his way over to them. He put his arm over Mia's shoulder and pulled her toward him. 

"Having fun Devil's maidens?" he asked. "Sure," Olivia replied. Mia nodded. "Good, great. Say Satan's minion #1 do you know my boy Tommy?" he asked. Mia supposed she was Satan's minion #1 because he was looking at her. 

She smiled. "Sure, he's your buddy," she said. Jake nodded. "He sure his. He's also an amazing kisser, did I mention that before?" he smirked. "And how would you know that precisely?" Olivia asked him, chuckling. 

It took Jake a moment to understand what she was getting at. " He's my bro and I'm an excellent wingman," he said. " And I have it on good authority that he got his eye on you. He's a good guy," 

" Then why doesn't he come say it to me himself?" Mia asked. Jake smiled. "Because I offered to break the ice, that's the kind of wingman I am," he replied. "He'd be more than happy to tell you himself... Don't worry, he'll leave it alone if you're not interested," his smile disappeared toward the end of his sentence. 

Mia looked at Olivia. " Anyway, I did my part, enjoy the party," Jake said after a minute and left the room as fast as he came. At least he didn't realize Caitlyn and Mike. Mia turned to Olivia. "Could be fun," Olivia murmured and took another sip. 

" I suppose," Mia replied and took a sip of her own cup, "But then you'd be alone since Cait is over there... making out?" Mia said as their eyes diverted to their friend. Olivia stepped between Mia and Caitlyn. "Seriously, you look worked up already. Go and have some fun, there is still time until midnight. I'll manage," she smiled, her eyes faltering behind Mia's shoulder and toward a small group behind them. 

Mia looked at her friend and sighed. "Fine, but if you feel lonely come get me," she said. Olivia nodded. " And you come find me if he doesn't kiss as good as Jack said," she smirked. Mia chuckled. "Bet," 

Mia chunked up what was left of her drink, tossed the cup to the trash and started looking for Jack and his buddy Tommy. She found them shortly and Jake introduced her to the group as if he wasn't by her side five minutes ago chatting up his friend. 

Jack was standing with Tommy and a girl. Jake was flirting with the other girl, a senior that Mia couldn't remember the name, and Tommy was fast to jump into flirting himself. A few minutes later all of them were dancing, his hands were at her waist and she had her hands on his neck. 

Mia could spot Jake occasionally checking them to see if she was alright. But she was feeling okay. Tommy wasn't bad. It was like a goddamn rule that when you were on a sports team you were either cute or attractive. 

The song changed into a more sexy one and Mia pulled herself close to his face. She leaned on his ear. "Jake did say that you were a great kisser," she said. Tommy laughed. "Of course he did," he replied. 

She bit down on her lip as a response, signaling to him that she wanted him to kiss her. Thankfully he was quick to notice and he pressed his lips to hers. Tommy wasn't the first person Mia kissed. Her first kiss was back in Seattle when she was 12. 

She had kissed plenty of boys in the past five years. But she had to give him credit, he really was a good kisser. Satisfied, she put her arms around his head and deepened the kiss. Mia could feel her body becoming numb from all the alcohol and her rationalized part of her brain fading away. 

For the next forty-five minutes she either danced or made out with Tommy. Sometimes the song became really energetic and the couple danced with Jake and his flirt. Since the alcohol had kicked in Mia didn't find making out right next to her best friend'd dick brother which she would never normally do, let alone with one of his friends. 

Mia pulled Tommy close. "I'm going to the bathroom," she said to his ear. He nodded. She made it out of the crowd and headed for Caitlyn's room. Their house was big and both Caitlyn and Jack had their own bathrooms attached to their rooms. 

Caitlyn didn't want her friends using the common bathroom during the parties, all things considered. She got inside Caitlyn's room and was relived to see that it was empty. If Cait or Olivia made it back here with someone she couldn't use the bathroom. 

She went inside the the bathroom and peed. As she was washing her hands and also splintering some water to her face, the worse part of being drunk bloomed on her. The unescapable thought creeping in. Her emotions coming out way then before. 

Everything she wanted to suppress for tonight came to the surface. And suddenly, Mia couldn't breathe. It was all too much. Her father, her sister, her mom lying to her for the past years... It all dawned on her all at once, all of her worries and anxiety. 

She had a father and a sister. God knew how many time she did come face to face with them without either party knowing what they really were to each other. Would they even be something to each other in the future? 

Before she knew it tears were dripping down from her face. Thank god that Caitlyn used water-proof mascara on her. Even the thought of that made her cry even more and she dropped to the ground slowly. 

It was even worse that the guilt of not sharing one of the most important things that ever happened to her aside, she was now crying on Caitlyn's bathroom. Her damn bathroom. Tonight wasn't supposed to go like that, no. Mia hoped at least her friends were having fun. 

"Devil's Maiden?" she heard. At first it was only the nickname. Then she heard footsteps. " Sata-- Mia?" Jake asked, kneeling down next to her. "Did he do something?" he asked. Mia looked up to him and shook her head quickly. "No, god no," she said. It was far from that. 

"Are you okay?" he asked. His hand was on her forehead. "God, you're burning up. Just how much did you had to drink?" he asked again. Mia shrugged, that was the least of her worries. " Hey, hey, look at me. What happened?" Jake demanded. 

Mia took a deep breath. "Why do you care? Just get back downstairs," she tried to shove him off. Damn he was persistent. " Cait will have my ass off, so no," he said, "Besides, you three are the same for me," he continued, more silently. 

The guilt was eating her up. If she could share it with one person, just one, and vent freely, she supposed she could be fine. " Can you keep a secret?" she asked instead, she was not sobbing anymore. Jack nodded. "You can't tell Cait, they don't know. Nobody knows," 

Jack's face hardened but he nodded again nonetheless. Mia leaned her back to the sink. Jack slid next to her. " I found out who my dad is, I met him," she said. It terrified her to say the words aloud for the first time. " It's Chief Swan. He's my dad. And apparently I also have a big sister," 

Mia didn't need to look to her left to see Jack's surprised expression. She heard him curse. " And you hate him?" he asked. Mia chuckled. " I don't know him well enough to hate him," she replied. " The family... we decided to keep it silent until we can all get used to it. But it's eating away at me. I didn't tell the girls, and this is the first time I'm keeping a secret from them. Beyond that, I'm mad. Mad at my mom because she kept me in the dark. Mad at him for not keeping up. I mean, I'm... I... just... I'm overwhelmed and I can't even talk about it with the girls," 

She then briefly told Jack of the story her mom told her. She didn't even know why she gave him that much information in the first place but once she started venting she couldn't stop. 

" She says she doesn't hate me but I don't know. I just don't know anything anymore," she said. Jack silently listened to her until she finished. " Yeah no shit it all got to you," he said. Mia rolled her eyes. 

He turned to her. " But I think you needed that. You three practically share everything. You must feel better now," he continued and she nodded. " You wanted to let go of it tonight. We still have seven minutes until midnight. Your friends are downstairs, go and have the fun you wanted to have. And after tonight, when you feel ready, you tell the girls. They can keep a secret, especially if it's about you. You'll feel better," 

Mia took a deep breath. "You're right," she said. She knew her friends, they wouldn't get mad that she didn't tell them about it instantly. Jack was right. There was a party going on downstairs with her best friends on the whole wide world and a cute guy who was interested in her. It was New Years. She could worry about it all later on. 

She got up and quickly wiped the tears and the smudge of her make up. Luckily, most of it was water-proof. " Thanks," she murmured when she was done. Jack smiled. " Your secret's safe with me," he replied and they went downstairs. 

She quickly found Caitlyn and Olivia. They gave the group updates about what each of them had done with other people when someone started the countdown. They linked their arms and joined it. They jumped together when they hit one. 

After that, the next thing she knew she was by Tommy's side again and they were making out.


	7. Chapter 7

Forks was usually cold, rainy, and frozen but perhaps it was at its peak in mid-January. Mia and Bella had started hanging out more, thanks to their common friend, Jake. Apparently, she reached out to him. 

She found two bikes and brought them over to him to fix them. They had been hanging out together while they worked on the bikes together and they invited Mia as well. Since Forks was a small community their winter break was long and they didn't have school for the first week of January. 

Caitlyn and Jack went up to their cabin to join their parents. Olivia was spending time with her family. Mia was happy that Bella and Jake invited her to because otherwise, she would sit at home by herself for a week straight. Plus, Bella had started warming up to her which was nice. 

Luckily, Jake being the person he is, filled the awkward silence between the sisters and was the buffer in weird moments. Sometimes his friends Embry and Quil joined them too. Mia could see Bella becoming more humane at their hangouts, bickering with the boys like she hadn't been depressed for the last months. She was even laughing and cracking jokes from moment to moment. 

It was nice. 

Charlie and her mom were also happy to see that the girls were starting to get along better. Bella would pick Mia up and they would drive to La Push together. Even though the drives were awkward at first by the third day it started to get less weird and more friendly. 

It was now Thursday, a week after the school opened up, and the girls made plans to drive down to La Push. Bella was waiting for Mia by her truck in the parking lot. "Hey," Mia smiled as she approached her sister.

Bella forced out a smile. "Hi... Ready?" she asked. Mia nodded. But before they could get inside the car someone started to shout Mia's name. When the pair turned back, they saw Jack hurrying toward them. 

"Slow down getaway bride," Jack said once he got close. "You were so fast I almost missed you," he nodded at Bella, "Hey Swan," 

Mia shrugged. "What's up?" she asked him. "Why haven't you tested Tommy back?" he asked. Mia rolled her eyes. "Are you trying to become Caitlyn?" she questioned him. Jack chuckled. "Just looking out for my bro. I think you guys were good the other night," 

Mia didn't reply. "Just think about it, okay?" he asked. She nodded in response. He sighed and turned around. The girls got inside the truck and Bella started driving. "What was that all about?" she asked Mia. 

Mia quickly told her about the events of the New Year party. Minus her breakdown. "I don't know, I had fun that night. But he's a senior, I don't want to get into anything too serious," Mia replied. 

" Would he be your first boyfriend?" Bella asked instead. "No, do you know Garett Wilson? We dated for a year," Bella nodded her head. Mia could tell she had no idea who he was. 

Mia took a deep breath as she took out her phone and quickly texted the group chat with the girls about what just happened. "What about you? You got your eye on anyone?" she asked. She only realized what she asked once she did. She silently cursed. 

" Erm... Not particularly," Bella said. "I don't do relationships much," Mia nodded, not pushing it any further. Just like everyone, she also wondered about her relationship with Cullen but their own relationship was too new and fragile for it to go there. 

As they passed by a cliff Mia could spot a few guys jumping to the water beneath. Bella didn't seem fazed by it and Mia could hear the laughter coming from the people so she ruled out murder and instead focused back on the matter at hand. 

She opened the radio instead to clear out the uncomfortable air inside the car. "So, what do you plan to do with the bikes once they're done? You're not actually thinking of becoming a biker, right?" 

Bella chuckled slowly. "Not for a long time, no. I just want to try something new," she replied. Mia nodded. "Sounds cool, I'm terrified of them but cool," 

They continued to talk about other stuff until they reached the Black house. Jake got out of the garage with his usual smile. "Took you, girls, long enough," he said. Bella and Mia shrugged at the same time. "Anyway, I think we've really made progress. The bikes should be ready for use in a couple of days," 

"Really?" Bella asked. Jake nodded. "Yeah, cmon. Let's eat something, I'm hungry like a wolf. Then we can work on the bikes," he said. 

They went inside and ate food with Billy. He was his usual charming self. And before Mia knew it they were already in the garage. 

At the end of the day, Mia and Jake had been invited to the cinema. Apparently, Bella and her friends were going to see a movie. Bella insisted on them to come so that she would feel less weird. Jake and Mia gave in after a while. 

Mia wondered whether Mike was coming and if Caitlyn knew about it. And what would it mean. The least, she could spy for her friend. Through Cait she knew that Mike also had his eye on Bella ever since she came to Forks. He even asked her to prom last year but she refused. Mia had no idea how Caitlyn found it out. 

The next day Caitlyn and Olivia asked Mia whether she was coming to get coffee and pizza. They wanted to get the gossip from Mia about Tommy. So it wasn't a real offer as much as saying that she was coming like the way you do between best friends. Mia talked to Tommy today and she agreed to see how things would work out. So, when Mia said she couldn't come, her friends were surprised. 

" I don't understand, why do you hate us?" Caitlyn asked Mia as they walked out of the building and to the parking lot. " I don't hate you," Mia scoffed. "Yes you do, you are breaking tradition," Cait continued. " You better have a good excuse," Olivia sighed. 

Mia spotted Bella standing next to a van along with Mike Newton and their friends. " Shut up, you're blowing us off for Swan?" Olivia scoffed. "What? No," Mia immediately said. She wished to god that she had told her friends about what was really going on and she was 'blowing them off' to get closer with her sister. 

The group was standing next to the girls. Mia stopped and took a deep breath. Maybe it was the time to tell them. The right time. She knew the girls wouldn't tell anyone else and support her. So why was Mia so scared to tell them the truth? 

"Look, I need to tell you something," Mia started. But before she could continue Jack appeared behind them. "Is it true?" he snapped at Caitlyn. Her eyes widened but before she could answer or ask what was going on Jack's eyes drifted behind the girls and landed on Mike Newton. 

" I am going to kill you!" Jack roared and jumped Mike. There were several initial screams and both Mike's and Jack's friends intervened to stop the fight. "How did he find out?" Caitlyn asked her friends. "Lots of people were at the party, someone was bound to blab," Olivia responded. "We have to stop them!" Mia exclaimed.

Twenty minutes later Mike had a bloody nose, Jack had a cut on his cheek and they were standing before the school's principal. Charlie was behind them with his deputy trying to make the other kids who gathered to watch the fight. 

Mia, Caitlyn, Olivia, Bella, Tommy, Eric Yorkie, and Tyler Crowley were also standing next to them as they were also at the scene of the fight. Charlie walked next to the principal and sighed. " Okay, tell me what happened here," 

Mia looked at her feet than to Bella who was looking everywhere but her father. Their father. " A misunderstanding," Jack spoke up. "Is that so?" Charlie grunted. Jack lightly elbowed Mike. "Uhm, yea. Just boys being boys Chief," Mike murmured. 

Mia fought the urge to roll her eyes. Charlie looked at each of the kids for a while then took a deep breath. " You two go see the nurse," he pointed at Jack and Mike. As they obeyed the orders Charlie called for the girls. His girls. 

Mia reluctantly walked toward her father. " You two okay?" he asked. " I'm fine but I think Mia needs some ice," Bella said. Mia turned to her sister in shock. "I told you I'm okay!" she exclaimed. 

When they were trying to break apart the fight Mia might have gotten hit, not a big deal to her, but Bella thought she should be looked at. " What happened?" Charlie questioned. Mia shrugged. "It's okay, Tommy took the hit largely anyways, he was protecting me," she explained. 

"Hmmh," Charlie grunted as he looked over the bruise. "Look, if it gets bad I'll just tell mom, okay?" she sighed. "Alright," Charlie said. Mia looked back down to her feet. It was embarrassing enough that the teachers called the police for a school fight and her dad showed up and she was in the middle of it, she didn't need to be coddled anyway. 

"Who's Tommy?" Charlie asked. "Mia's boyfriend," Bella answered. Mia looked at her sister in shock who was grinning and elbowed her. "Snitch!" she whispered. "Ah, uh, uhm, boyfriend?" Charlie was grunting. 

Mia furrowed her brows. "You know it's not official!" she said to her sister. Bella shrugged and kept on smiling. "I beg to differ from what you told me the nigh--" Bella started saying but Mia shushed her off. 

Charlie was looking at them, clearly uncomfortable. Bella was grinning and Mia felt herself becoming a tomato. " Tommy Miller!" Charlie shouted and took a few steps since the rest of the kids were standing behind them being scolded by the principal. 

"Dad, no, stop!" Mia muttered. Both Mia and Charlie stood frozen in their places. Mia just called him dad for the first time. And there was no way the others didn't hear it. Shit, shit, shit. Fuck. Mia could see her friends' surprise and Tommy gulping. "He needs to get that bruise checked out," Charlie grunted. 

Mia heard Bella chuckle silently beside her. "I'm gonna wait for you in the truck," she said to her. "You're gonna pay for this," Mia said but Bella just smiled in response. Charlie and Tommy started walking away. 

Mia walked to her friends. They both looked at her with questions in their eyes. "That was what I was going to tell you," she confessed. "I was gonna tell you before but... it's all-new, okay? And--" she couldn't finish because Caitlyn jumped at her and hugged her. "You don't need to explain," she said. Soon Olivia joined their hug as well. "Yeah, we'll talk later," 

"Thanks," Mia murmured. "I've gotta go now, but we'll talk later?" Both girls nodded immediately. "Great," Mia smiled and made her way over to her sister's truck. "I just texted dad that we're leaving," she said.

Mia nodded and shut the door. "I am so going to kill you, you know that right?" she asked. She only heard Bella chuckle and she couldn't help herself but join her sister. Yeah, it started to feel that way more and more each day. 

" I'm assuming the whole plan is off now?" Mia asked after a while. " Some people took a raincheck after the whole thing but... still, if nobody shows up it could just be the three of us," Bella answered. 

The other day Charlie pulled Mia aside. He told her about Bella and how she had been for the past few months. And how happy he was that Bella was being social once again. Especially with her and Jake. He said that Bella was alive once again and she was even smiling or cracking jokes from time to time. And he thanked her. 

It made Mia happy. She didn't really know Bella before and now upon learning she was her sister, she wanted to help. But she didn't want to push any buttons. However, she could also see Bella changing from when she first met her. The scene ten minutes ago was proof of that. Even if they still had a long way to go to being sisters they were becoming friends. 

" What was that fight all about?" Bella asked her. So Mia told her. From the New Years' party to Caitlyn's obsession over Mike Newton to Jack hating him for different reasons. "Yuck," Bella said at the end. "Yeah," 

The thing was, Jack usually wasn't an asshole like that. Caitlyn was free to have boyfriends and flirts like any other person. But Jack hated Mike Newton with a passion that he couldn't help himself. Mia still thought it was idiotic but hey, she couldn't control Jack and his actions. 

The girls went to the Swan house and ate dinner. Meanwhile, Jessica and Eric said that they couldn't come to the movies. Mia and Bella got on the road once again to drive to the movies. Jake texted saying he was on his way and Tyler canceled saying he was grounded. By the time they reached the cinema, Angela canceled as well. 

" So... that leaves us with Mike only?" Mia asked. Bella nodded with an uncomfortable smile. "I bet you five dollars that both of them are gonna try to make a move," Mia joked as they got out of the car. "What do you mean?" Bella asked.

Mia looked at her sister and rolled her eyes. "Cmon, don't play dumb with me," she said. But when she saw Bella's expression she started giggling. "Oh my god, you are actually unaware!" 

"Bella, I don't know much about Mike but Jake's been flirting with you from the start! And based on what I hear from Cait, he has also been wiggling his way with you as well. Do you think it's a coincidence all of his friends miraculously canceled on a group date? Does he even know Jake and I are coming?" 

"I didn't tell them," Bella confessed. "HA! See? He totally thinks it's gonna be the two of you," Mia said but she somehow also felt bad as Mike was with her best friend a week ago smushing their bodies. "Well then I'm more than glad you and Jake are gonna be there too," 

Mia scoffed then broke into laughter. " This is gonna be a fun night for me," she said between laughs, "And karma really is a bitch," Bella just rolled her eyes and kept on walking. 

When the girls walked inside both Jake and Mike were already there. They were each standing on opposite sides of the room and both walked toward them as soon as they spotted them. Mia could spot Mike's demeanor faltering as he saw Mia and Jake. 

"Looks like it's just the four of us," Jake smirked knowingly. Mia gave him a snide look and he shrugged in response. Yes, indeed Mia would have fun tonight. 

Mia didn't usually go for horror or gore movies. Superhero stuff was more of her plate but Bella liked them for some reason so she decided to bear with it for her sister. Bella was sitting between Jake and Mike. Mia was next to Jake. 

Mike was trying his best to stay far away from Mia and closest to Bella. Mia knew that Mike knew she was best friends with Caitlyn. And they both knew what happened two weeks ago at the party. 

Although Mike really didn't seem to care about it at the moment. Both he and Jake were competing with each other silently. Honestly, Mia was paying attention to them more than the movie. And she was fighting herself really hard not to chuckle. 

After a while, she couldn't take it. "I'm going to the bathroom," she said to them and got up. The movie was boring for her anyway and she really couldn't hold it in anymore. When Mia walked back out of the bathroom she found Bella all alone, sitting on the stairs.

"Movie's over?" she asked. "Nah, I think it's still going on," Bella replied. "Where are the boys?"Mia asked next. Bella sighed. Somehow in the five minutes that Mia was gone Bella had reverted back to three months ago. 

Mia sat down next to her. "Mike got sick. Then Jake and he... well, I don't exactly know what happened. I think they both caught the virus going around. They both left," she explained. Mia could tell there was more to the story. 

They sat silently together on the stairs. "Do you... Do you want to stay over tonight?" Bella asked. Mia was surprised at that. "Uhm, yeah. Sure," When they got back inside the car and Bella started driving Mia gave her a total of ten minutes to collect herself. 

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" she asked. "Well, uhm, you were right," Bella muttered. She didn't continue. Mia already knew that she was right but again, she didn't push Bella's buttons. 

When Bella pulled the truck up to the driveway Charlie's car was not in sight. The girls walked inside. "Do you think Jake's been acting weird recently?" Bella asked her. "What do you mean?" 

Bella shrugged. "I don't know. He's been really stressed about Embry. I think that's because why he lashed out at Mike tonight," she said. Mia knew Embry, he seemed okay. And she didn't really know what was going on.

" About Embry? What's that?" she asked her as they sat down on the couch. "Do you remember the guys that were jumping from the cliffs when we were driving to Jake's house the other day?" Mia nodded her head, so Bella did really spot them. 

" Jake says they are some kind of a cult. Sam is like their leader or something and he recruits teenagers. Once they're with Sam they cut off everyone else in their life. Embry started to hang out with them a while ago and now he won't talk to Jake or Quil.He says that Embry's all different now, cut his hair, got a tattoo. Jake's mad," 

In perspective based on the split second that Mia saw them, she didn't really think that they were a cult. But hey, what did she know? All of her knowledge on stuff like that came from watching Criminal Minds. 

"Well then, it's possible he used his anger on Mike since they were competing for the whole night," Mia said. Bella sighed. "Don't remind me," she huffed. "Do you want to watch another movie?" 

"Sure, but can I pick it this time? No offense but you have shit taste," Mia grinned. There was a little tug at the edge of Bella's lips. "Okay," she said. "Is it okay if I go take a quick shower?" Mia nodded. "Yeah, I can make popcorn in the meantime," 

Mia was just done finding all the ingredients in the kitchen when the door opened. It must have been Charlie. Mia put the corns inside the pot and put the lid on when Charlie walked inside the kitchen. 

"Mia! Hey," he said. She turned to him. "Hi, Bella's upstairs in the shower. We're gonna watch a movie together. Do you want to join us?" Charlie leaned on the counter. "Is Bells picking the movie?" 

Mia grinned. "No," Charlie nodded. "I'll get changed," he said and turned away. "Wait," Mia called after him. " I actually wanted to talk to you about something," 

After the whole thing that happened after school, Mia used the whole cinema thing as a distraction but something ate her up from the inside. 

"Uhm, yeah?" Charlie asked, turning around. "About today," Mia murmured. She could feel her heartbeat getting faster and her hands sweaty. There was no way to go around about it so she just decided to give it to him straight. "Were you uncomfortable because I called you 'dad'?" 

They had never talked about it. Sure they both wanted to get to know each other but Mia wasn't sure whether it was too soon for her to start calling him dad. Maybe he wasn't used to Mia yet, it was still fairly new. 

" Because I can understand if it's weird for you, I never called you that before or anyone else and it just came out and--" Mia stopped once Charlie awkwardly hugged her. "No, no, it's okay," he said. "It just caught me by surprise. If anything... uhm, I was giving you time. Bells usually calls me Charlie," 

"But you know, uhm, I'm your dad, so, err... if you want too, of course, you can call me dad," he said. "Okay," Mia said. " Dad," she added. It felt weird to be saying the word. She only said the word when she asked about him to her mom before but not directly to the person. It felt unfamiliar. 

It would take her some time for her, and Charlie too, to get used to it and for it to feel normal as if she was saying, mom or grandma. "I'll go change," Charlie muttered and Mia diverted her attention back to the popcorn. 

After Bella got out of the shower she also gave Mia a change of clothes from her own wardrobe, they were almost the same size. Although it was a bit small Mia it still fit mostly. Since their dad was also joining them for the movie Mia chose, of course, a superhero movie for them to watch.


	8. Chapter 8

The weekend that followed Mia's first stay-over at the Swan house, she had her first official date with Tommy. It went nice. Although she learned that Charlie-- her dad basically threatened to hunt him down and make him suffer if he ever hurt her. 

That was a refresher! 

Mia spent the rest of the weekend with Caitlyn and Olivia. Because Jack got in a fight at school he lost his driving privileges, again, and his car was now Caitlyn's for the whole week. Mia told them about everything. About her dad, Bella, and what her mom told her. She did not miss anything. 

Once the emotional talk was done it was time for the gossip. Specifically about what happened with Tommy. Mia also told Caitlyn about Friday night and Mike. She said that Mike ended up texting her that night. The girls' theory was that it was both to spite Jack and to still get Caitlyn after Bella was uninterested in him. 

" He's not that good of a kisser anyway," Caitlyn said. "I'll take your word for it," Olivia responded. Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "Enough about him. I'm more curious as to how nice Jack's been to you," 

Mia sighed and leaned back on her chair. They were in a cafe in Forks, one of the only two in the town, and for their luck, it wasn't full. They were able to gossip however they liked. Everyone knew everyone and word spread quickly, especially among teenagers. 

"I know right? I'm just as shocked as you are," Mia replied to her friend. "I think he's becoming sentimental because in a few months he won't have us to torture," Olivia chuckled. "Valid point," 

Caitlyn sighed. " Cody's been texting me ever since the party," Mia and Olivia were surprised at that. Cody was a classmate of theirs and the pair initially flirted but it never got anywhere. "That's unexpected, what are you gonna do?" 

"We'll see. I said okay to coffee," Caitlyn replied nonchalantly. "Why aren't you excited more?" Olivia asked. She shrugged. "I don't know, I heard he just broke up with Melanie. I'm not interested in being a rebound," 

"Enough about me, did that girl ever hit you back?" Caitlyn asked Olivia. "Girl? What girl? Why is the first I'm hearing of this?" Mia exclaimed. Her friends sneered. "Well, your attention was way less on us and more on Tommy's face," 

Mia gave them the middle finger. "We met at the party. She's a friend of Jenny Blitz. She's from Shuwah," Olivia explained. " And, yes, she texted me Thursday night. We have been texting ever since," 

Caitlyn and Mia squealed together. " What's her Insta?" Caitlyn asked while Mia opened up Instagram on her phone. "I knew you were going to do this," Olivia rolled her eyes, "Here," 

The girls were now walking toward Olivia's car and also trying to squeeze out more tea on her possible girlfriend. Olivia was adamant not to give it to them. Mia's phone started ringing. 

" Hey, dad," she answered. With each time it got easier to make the word out. "Hi, busy?" Charlie asked. "I'm with Cait and Olivia," she replied. "Is everything alright?" 

Charlie grunted before answering. "It's Bella. She didn't tell me much but I was hoping... maybe you had an idea?" he asked. Mia heard him sigh. Honestly, she had no idea. She hadn't seen her sister ever since she stayed there. "I can try," 

After an hour, once Olivia drove Mia home, she got to her bedroom and called Bella. She opened the phone at the first ring. She sounded disappointed. "Hey," she said. "Hey," Mia replied. "You feel okay?"

Mia wasn't sure but she could visualize Bella shrugging. "Generally, yeah. You?" she replied. Mia bit down her lip for a moment before answering. "Good," she murmured. She didn't want to out their father. "You don't sound all that okay," 

"I am," Bella spat. Mia got the feeling she wanted to say something more, maybe, something along the lines of _'you've only known me for a little while, what makes you think you know?' _and Bella seemed to realize Mia got the same feeling too. Bella sighed. "Sorry," she muttered.__

__Mia didn't reply immediately. She didn't know what to say. It was true, she didn't yet know Bella well enough. If it was Cait or Olivia on the phone, her best friends, she'd know what exactly to say to get her friends talking or to soothe them._ _

__"Have you heard from Jake?" Bella asked. She sounded reluctant. "Uhhhh, no. Not since the movies. Mom told me he got the mono or something, out sick. Heard from Billy," she replied. Bella sighed once again. "Okay,"_ _

__Mia took a deep breath. "What's on your mind?" she asked her. She must not know Bella well yet but it didn't mean she could try to get to know her better... or at least what she was thinking. "Nothing much. Haven't heard from him in a while, that's all,"_ _

__"Hmmh," Mia murmured into the phone. She was at a loss. They both stayed on the call without talking. "You think he's avoiding you?" Mia asked. She knew about Jake's crush on Bella and she was suspecting something happened at the movies while she was gone. _Romance drama, _that she knew how to handle.___ _

____Bella sighed once again. "Could he?" he asked. " I mean, I don't know. If you remember the last time I saw him was inside the theater. When I found you again he was gone,"_ _ _ _

____"You can talk to me about it, you know," Mia added at last. It was anxious as she build-up to say the words. They didn't know each other for more than two months for god's sake and they didn't instantly become best friends upon learning they were sisters._ _ _ _

____" I know... thanks," Bella croaked. "I'm thinking of going over there to see him," she added. Bella didn't invite her or insinuated that she wanted Mia to join, so she didn't say anything. "Sounds like a good idea,"_ _ _ _

____They were silent once again. Mia took a deep breath. "Bella," she said sharply, it wasn't to snap at her but more to make her get that she was about to say something serious. "I know this is all new... to both of us. And I know these aren't easy times for you... but, but, we're... related. So, I'm here for you, if you need it,"_ _ _ _

____She was almost about to say sisters but it felt too uncomfortable, even for that situation, and she didn't want to push it. "I know," Bella replied, "Thanks,"_ _ _ _

____ _ _

____That Thursday, surprisingly, Mia, Cait, and Olivia were sitting with Jack and his friends at lunch. Cait overheard Jack talking with one of his buddies, Peter, and that he was kind of into his sister. She always thought Peter was handsome but since he was Jack's friend, he was off the table, just as Caitlyn's friends were off the table for Jack too._ _ _ _

____But seeing as how Peter was interested as well, Cait was too. Cory thing didn't work out for Caitlyn after all. So the girls were sitting at their table. Jack, Tommy, Peter and another of their friend called Matt was there. Mia was sitting between Olivia and Tommy. Although his hand was on her shoulder Mia was more interested in Olivia._ _ _ _

____She had a boyfriend and it seemed like Cait was about to get one too, and although Mia knew Olivia was pretty content about romance on her own, her possible girlfriend was still a town away and she didn't want her friend to feel like the third wheel._ _ _ _

____Tommy gently squeezed her shoulder. "Mia," he said. She turned to him. "We're going to the movies tomorrow, right?" he asked. He had asked her earlier in the week but she gave a vague answer. "I'm with the girls tomorrow,"_ _ _ _

____"Uh, okay," he pouted. "We can take a raincheck," Olivia said, clearly overheard the conversation. This was exactly what Mia didn't want to happen. "No, I promised," she replied to her friend._ _ _ _

____Olivia shrugged. "I'm sure Cait will have plans for tomorrow too," she said and glanced at their friend who seemed to be in deep conversation with Peter. " I don't know," Mia murmured. "Cait!" Olivia spoke up loudly. "You busy tomorrow?"_ _ _ _

____"No," Cait replied. Olivia turned to Mia with a smirk. "See, you can go after all," she said. "But-" Mia started but Jack cut her off. "Why don't you guys go together?" Mia furrowed her brows. "Make it a triple-date thing, I don't know,"_ _ _ _

____He looked at Olivia. "You can invite your friend, it's a Friday," he said. That was... a good idea. "Sounds good," Cait said with a smile. Jack chuckled. "Great, I'll have the house to myself for a couple of hours then, finally,"_ _ _ _

____Then it was agreed. A triple date. Caitlyn was already over the moon about it, she always wanted to have something like that with the girls ever since she saw it in a movie, and she was going off about it. The girls had left the table as they had a class._ _ _ _

____" Do you think matching outfits would be too much?" she squealed. Olivia chuckled. "A bit yeah," Mia smirked. "Well, I suppose we'll also get to meet your mysterious boo, won't we?" Olivia blushed and glanced away. "Shut up," she chuckled._ _ _ _

____As they were chuckling Mia spotted Bella in the corridor. She was walking toward them, her. She stopped once she got close but Mia noticed the way she grabbed her bag even tighter. Olivia and Caitlyn looked at each other. "We'll save you a seat,"_ _ _ _

____"Hey," Mia smiled. "Hi," Bella replied. "I, I wanted to ask you something," she said. Mia nodded. "Do you remember how I said I wanted to go to La Push to see Jake?" Mia nodded again. "I'm thinking tomorrow,"_ _ _ _

____"Oh, cool," Mia said, thinking it was time to speak. "Do you think it's a good idea?" Bella asked. Mia couldn't really read her emotions. "Why wouldn't it be? You guys have been friends for a while... and he's sick. If only it's customary to wish him health. As his friend, it's normal that you try to catch him if he's avoiding you,"_ _ _ _

____Bella was subtly nodding as Mia was thinking. "Thanks," she said at last. Mia smiled. "Of course," she replied. "Let me know how it goes, alright?"_ _ _ _

____ _ _

____The next day, Tommy drove Mia to the movies. Olivia had to go and pick up her date from her house and Cait asked to go with her. She wanted to meet her friend's boo as soon as possible. Peter was with them too._ _ _ _

____Mia and Tommy couldn't join them if they wanted to, otherwise, there wouldn't be any space for all of them on the road to the movies. Mia wasn't complaining. It allowed her and Tommy a bit of private time._ _ _ _

____She knew she had to be more involved with him if they were going to work this out. She decided that she... liked Tommy, just fine. He was cool and nice. The school year was going to end in a few months and if anything, she would enjoy these last months._ _ _ _

____Plus, he was a good kisser. Which was why they were currently parked on the sideway on some street, making out. They had plenty of time until the rest of the group drove to Shuwah and then back to the theater._ _ _ _

____Tommy slid his hands slowly down to Mia's waist and pulled her body toward himself. He was a bit rough in doing it as the shifter hit Mia's leg. It hurt but she decided to focus on Tommy. This was not her first time in a car, although it wasn't her preferred place._ _ _ _

____" Do you wanna..." Tommy started to say between the kisses but before he could finish they jumped from a police siren. Mia jumped back to her own seat and took out the mirror to fix her appearance._ _ _ _

____Tommy gulped as he looked at the rear mirror. Mia heard him curse under his breath. The police officer walked up to the car and knocked on the window. Tommy gave Mia a side glance as he slowly lowered the window._ _ _ _

____" What seems to be the pro-- Mia?" It was Charlie. Mia wanted to get six feet underground right now. "Dad?" she replied, not knowing what else to say. Oh, this was bad. Very, very bad. "Er... Is there something wrong with the... the car?_ _ _ _

____Mia sighed and looked at Tommy. "No sir," he replied. Charlie looked between them and he squinted his eyes at Mia. During those moments of silence, Mia wanted to die. It was bad enough that the police caught them making out, but it was worse since it was her dad. Her freaking dad._ _ _ _

____" Well, it's against the law to, to park if you're not having an emergency. Be on your way," Charlie grunted. Tommy nodded and turned on the car. "Yes sir," he stammered. "Mia, we're gonna talk later," Charlie said and she could only nod in return._ _ _ _

____They drove to the theater in silence. Mia texted the friend group while Tommy was driving and telling them what happened. The girls obviously made fun of her. "Cait says they're twenty minutes away," Mia said._ _ _ _

____"Great," Tommy replied, still shaken from what happened. "I'm sorry... about my dad," Mia sighed. He tilted his head. "Yeah, yeah, it's no problem," he muttered. "Let's go, yeah?"_ _ _ _

____Luckily the others made it there in about twenty-five minutes, only five minutes before the movie started. The girl Olivia brought had tan skin and brown eyes. She was a bit taller than her, but they looked good together. She seemed sweet so far._ _ _ _

____About forty minutes into the movie Mia realized that all of her friends were now making out. Tommy's arm was on her shoulders and they were cuddling. They were apart ever since Charlie caught them._ _ _ _

____They seemed to get comfortable again with each minute. A couple of minutes later Tommy started to move his lips alongside her cheek. She couldn't help but smile as he took the first step._ _ _ _

____When the movie ended Mia didn't really watch the movie. "I'm thinking milkshakes," Peter said as they were leaving the theater. "Yes," the rest replied at the same time. Ten minutes later they were seated in a cafe nearby with milkshakes ordered._ _ _ _

____"Man, I hope you never get face to face with Jack," Peter said after a funny remark about Jean, Olivia's date, by Mia and Caitlyn. "What does that mean?" Caitlyn asked. Peter and Tommy looked at each other and chuckled simultaneously. "He gave us both hour-long lectures about treating you girls right," Tommy said._ _ _ _

____"And I mean _hours, _I would honestly prefer Molina's class," Peter replied. "Nothing would compare to Molina's class," Mia groaned. "No he didn't," Olivia chuckled. "He did,"___ _ _ _

______"Honestly, I think he sees all you three as his little sisters, it's almost comical," Peter said. Mia looked at her friends. She had no idea, honestly, she didn't even think he cared about them a month ago. But maybe he really did._ _ _ _ _ _

______And it was true, Mia, Olivia, and Caitlyn were like sisters now. Bella might be her blood-related sister but Caitlyn and Olivia were sure her sisters. So maybe Mia knew how to handle how to have a sister, it wasn't all uncharted territory._ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______"I have pizza on the counter," Liz called out as Mia walked inside. "Thanks, mom," she called back. She was honestly exhausted from the day. Eating pizza and watching TV shows with her mom would be the perfect ending to the day._ _ _ _ _ _

______Although it was embarrassing, Mia wanted to get her mom's opinion of what happened today earlier. Liz couldn't contain her laughter as Mia went on. "It looks like you guys are starting to warm up to each other,"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Yeah," Mia nodded. "I guess so,"_ _ _ _ _ _

______Then Mia's phone started ringing. "Oh, cmon! The girls had you all day!" Liz exclaimed. Mia chuckled as she took her phone out from her pocket. Her expression changed once she read the caller's name. It was Bella._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Hey, what's up?" she opened the phone after quickly showing her mom the screen. "Can you come over?" Bella asked. Mia sat up straight. "Is everything alright?" Bella sighed. "How quick can you get here?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______Liz drove Mia to the Swan house. "Talk to you later honey," she said as Mia got out of the car. Mia anxiously took the steps to the door. Charlie opened it after a few knocks. "Mia!" he sounded surprised. "Get in,"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Bella called, is she up in her room?" she asked. Charlie nodded. As Mia motioned to go up Charlie stopped her. "Wait, wait a sec. I'm glad you're actually here," he said. He walked to the living room and came back, holding something in his hand._ _ _ _ _ _

______"I gave Bells one too... I just want you guys, both of you, to be safe. It'll ease... me... if I knew you had one with you too," he said and handed her a bottle of pepper spray. "Thanks... Dad,"_ _ _ _ _ _

______Mia quickly put the spray inside her bag and climbed up the stairs. She knew where Bella's bedroom was. There were only two bedrooms anyway. Bella opened the door as she neared it. "Hey, what's going on? Are you okay?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______Bella took a deep breath and closed the door. "I went down there. To Jake," she said. "And? It went bad?" Mia questioned. Bella ran her hands through her hair. "He... He... He's different. I don't know. He cut his hair, got a tattoo,"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"What?" Mia furrowed her brows. "I thought he had mono," Bella nodded fiercely. "I thought so too, but apparently he's fine. And, and, he's hanging out with Sam. He told me we couldn't be friends anymore,"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Who's Sam?" Mia asked. She was lost. "He's this guy Jake told me about, before. He used to think he had a cult and that he drew teenagers in... He wasn't fond of him and now... he, he is like him,"_ _ _ _ _ _

______Bella sat on her bed and covered her face with her hands. " I told him to give me time so, so that I could try, try to do... what he wants. It's just not easy after... Oh, god," she said. Mia sat next to her. "I just don't know... if I can... ever... after _him, _"___ _ _ _ _ _

________Bella looked up at Mia. "He told me I didn't belong... in his world, belong with him. He told me he didn't want me and now he's gone. Gone! He promised it would be like he'd never even existed and I... I am starting to believe him... Was it ever real? Any of it?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Mia could see the tears in her sister's eyes. She slowly embraced Bella and pulled her to herself. "I am just so, so tired. Everyone's leaving me. All... All there is left is pain and I can't... handle it," her voice cracked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"It was real," Mia said. "Jake... I know he's acting... odd. We could try to talk to Billy, he could help with the... Sam situation. You guys are friends, it'll work out,"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Mia took a deep breath. "And... I won't leave you. I know this is all new... but I'm here. I'm your sister. And we'll be together... we're family, Bella. I won't leave you,"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________It was the first time Mia called Bella her sister. Out loud. It felt right to say it at that moment. Everything she said. Mia would never leave Caitlyn or Olivia without help... and neither she would leave Bella. She was her sister too._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Mia could grasp how both Edward and Jake's words had affected her, how much they caused pain, and a little of why Bella was feeling this way, but now that she knew they existed, Charlie and Bella, she wouldn't leave them, her family._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Bella looked up at Mia. Her looks were stern. "What did you say?" she asked slowly. "I won't leave you," Mia repeated herself. Bella got up. "Stupid," she muttered under her breath. "Get out!" she exclaimed at Mia._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Bella--"Mia got up but Bella interrupted her. "I don't want to hear. I don't want to see you. I don't... just get out. Of my room, of my house. You're not my sister... you, you... we're not family," her voice increased toward the end of her sentence._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Mia looked at Bella with tears in her eyes. She could hear heavy footsteps coming up from the stairs. "Bella," she said but didn't know what to say, what could you say to that? "I don' need you or your help. JUST GO LIKE EVERYONE DOES!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Hey, hey, hey! What's going on girls?" Charlie entered the room. Mia looked at her dad and back to Bella. "Nothing," Bella spat. Mia walked out, she was overwhelmed by anger, disappointment, and frustration._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________As she was stepping outside of the house she heard Charlie coming down. She knew it was him because as far as she knew Bella, she wouldn't follow her after what just happened. "Mia, Mia. Wait," Charlie called after her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"I am going home," Mia told her. She knew Charlie wasn't to blame right now but she was so... so angry that she didn't want to snap at her father. "It's late... At least let me drive you," Charlie sighed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Mia stopped. It was dark and she was aware of the bear killings happening in the area, it was in the news and there was a weekly reminder at school to beware. And she really wasn't in the mood to walk all the way to her house._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Okay," she murmured. "Let me get my keys," Charlie said. Once they got inside the car Mia spoke up before her dad could. "I don't... want to talk about it, okay, dad?" Charlie grunted but nodded._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Bella once mentioned that one of her favorite qualities about their father was that he didn't hover and pressure. Mia was honestly grateful about that right now._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Charlie stopped in front of the house. "I'm sorry... about her," he said. "Dad..." Mia started but he shushed her. "I know you don't want to talk about it... and we're not. I'm just saying... no excuse but... she's having a hard time nowadays... but she shouldn't have said those,"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"See you later Dad," Mia said and got out of the car. She was aware of how harsh she pushed the car door but she didn't care. Liz was already at the door, looking confused. "Not now, mom," she hissed and directly went to her room. After closing the door with force she got inside her bed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Mia knew that bonding with Bella would be hard but she never imagined it to this scale. Her words were going around in Mia's mind repeatedly. It hurt, it really did. Mia smiled to herself, she didn't realize how much she cared about Bella instantly after learning they were sisters even though it had been a very short period of time. And how much her words could hurt._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	9. Chapter 9

The next day, after waking up and having some breakfast, Mia drove down to La Push. She wanted to talk to Jake on her own, even if she was pissed at Bella what she said last night had her worried about Jake.

He was her friend too. 

On her way she tried to imagine how Jake must look like from the way Bella described him. She honestly couldn't think of him with short hair. Everyone there had long hair. 

Luckily, it wasn't raining today. Just cloudy. The usual way. Mia was grateful for that for she hated driving during the rain. It was probably something from her childhood when her mom and Mia got into a minor accident when she was a kid back in Seattle during the rain. 

The ground was muddy from all the rain from yesterday. Mia walked up to the house and knocked on the door. "Mia, what a surprise!" Billy opened it. "Hi Billy, is Jake around?" 

Billy pressed his lips together. "Why don't you come in for a cup of tea?" he asked. Mia obliged. As Billy wheeled to the kitchen to prepare the tea he turned to face Mia. "Jake's out. With his friends," 

Mia sat down on the chair. "Friends? Embry and Quil?" she asked. "Embry's there," he replied. Mia looked down. She remembered Embry starting to hang out with Sam too. "I talked to Bella yesterday. You know what happened?" 

Billy came back with two cups. He handed one to Mia. "Yes," he said. Mia took a sip from the tea. "So it's true then?" she asked. Billy upped his eyebrows. "What is?" 

"Jake joined the cult too?" Mia asked. Billy chuckled. "Mia, it's no cult. Trust me," he said. "It's not?" Mia furrowed her eyebrows. He smiled. "No. If anything, Sam's helping all those boys," 

Mia had no idea how cutting his hair or getting a tattoo would be helping but she didn't push it. If Billy, his father, thought it was okay, she wasn't going to push it. "Bella says he's been avoiding her," she said. "I haven't seen him in a while too," 

Billy took a sip. He didn't seem surprised by the topic. "I'll try to talk to him. You're a good kid," he said. "I didn't just mean me..." Mia replied. "Bella's his friend too," 

"Some things are just the way it is," Billy said. "He's going through something. Sam's helping him, trust me. He's as fine as he can be," 

Mia sighed and then finished the tea. "You sure?" she asked, looking down to her hands and how the joints of her hands became white from holding the cup too tight. "Yes," he replied. "Maybe you should come by more often. Getting to hang around more with the tribe. Your tribe too," he added. "And bring that mother of yours too,"

It had been two weeks. Mia and Bella avoided each other. Mia only saw her father at Billy's house when she and her parents went there for dinner and to watch the football game that was on. Jake wasn't there either. 

Mia was at Olivia's house. Olivia just spent the weekend before at Jean's and she was going to tell them how it went. They were going to have a sleepover. But Mia's phone started ringing. It was her mom. "Get ready, I'm on my way. I'll pick you up," 

"What? Mom, no!" Mia protested. Liz sighed. "Harry Clearwater just died. I knew him... And he was friends with your dad," she said. Oh crap. "Okay... Okay, how long till you get there?" she asked her mom. "Five, ten tops," 

Mia quickly explained the situation to her friends and got outside. Her mom arrived in a few minutes like she said. She got inside. "Do we know what happened?" she asked. Liz shrugged. "Heart attack," she said, "They were hunting for those wolves... you know, the missing hikers and all. And he just...," 

They drove in silence for the rest of the day. Mia got the impression Harry was another of her mom's friend that she didn't hear about. But she heard the name a couple of times from her dad so she knew they were close. They fished together a lot. 

Mia spotted Charlie's car outside of the Clearwater house. "Have you talked to dad?" she asked. Liz sighed as she parked the car. "He's the one who called me, he didn't sound okay," After that, they quickly got out of the car and headed inside. 

Mia was following her mom around at this point. There were a lot of unknown faces. Liz immediately went up to a crying woman. There were a girl and a teenager next to her. "Oh, Sue! I am so sorry!"

As Liz and Sue hugged Mia watched the interaction. She suspected that she was his wife and judging by their faces the teenagers were his kids. "I'm sorry for your loss," she said toward them. The girl didn't reply but just nodded. The guy looked at her. "Thanks," 

After that Mia walked up to her dad. He was with Billy. "Hey," she said slowly. "Mia," Charlie murmured and threw an arm over her. "I'm sorry for your loss," she said. "Thanks, kid," Billy said. 

"Is there anything I can do?" Mia asked. Charlie shrugged. "I'm gonna get a drink," he muttered and walked away. "This is hard on your dad," Billy said. "He lost another of his friends, Waylon, earlier this year," Mia bit down on her lip. She vaguely remembered something about it on the local news. "That's too bad," 

Before they could talk more someone stepped next to Mia. He was taller than her and had short hair, unlike the rest of the people here. "Billy," the man said. Billy looked up at him. "Sam," he said. Mia turned her head in a flash. So this was the infamous Sam!

"Have you met Mia?" he asked. Sam turned to look at her and gave her a nod. He was examining her. "Charlie and Liz's kid," Billy said and Sam's eyes shined for a moment. Was that a warning sign? "Nice to meet you," Sam said after that. 

Mia moved her head. "Yeah... You too," she said. Sam turned back to Billy. "Can we talk?" he asked him. Mia got that as her cue to leave. She walked away in hopes of finding either her mom or dad since she didn't know anyone else.

Just by her luck, she bumped into someone. When she looked up to apologize she realized it was Embry. Jake's friend. "Hey," he said. "Hey," she replied. She didn't know what else to say. "You knew the Clearwaters?" he asked her. 

Mia shrugged. "My parents did... You?" she asked. He shrugged too. "It's a small community. Yeah," he replied. "Then I'm sorry for your loss," she said. Someone coughed up next to them. "Oh, sorry. Mia, this is Jared," he said. 

The guy smiled. "Hi," he said. "Hi," Mia replied. She could use this time to investigate. "So... I haven't heard from Jake in a while," she said. Both of the guys straightened up and their faces became empty. 

"Yeah, he's... going through something," Embry said. "Billy said the same thing," Mia responded, rather frustrated. "First he's down with mono and now he's going through something... with you guys," she spat. Jared glanced away rather than facing her. 

Embry sighed. "Yeah. It's just what it is," he said. "Hmmh," Mia muttered angrily. "Well, please tell him he has other friends too. Her name starts with a B," she said and walked away. She didn't know why she was acting like this but maybe getting her anger out through other ways was good. She was getting her anger out in one way or another. 

She found her mother across the room talking to Charlie. She saw that Billy was still talking to Sam but with another guy at their side. She turned her attention to her parents. She listened to them talk about a while, about their memories of Harry Clearwater. 

"Dad, do you want me to come home with you later? I can keep you company," she asked. Charlie looked speechless. Mia hadn't been there since her fight with Bella, and she really wasn't in the mood to see her but she also didn't want to leave her dad alone. 

Liz gave her a small smile. "Home?" Charlie muttered. Mia nodded. He looked at Liz then back to her. "Thanks... But it's a Friday, right? I'm sure you had plans with your friends," he said. Mia shrugged. "It's okay, I can hang out with them later," Charlie hugged Mia. "I think I'm just going to drink and sleep tonight," he said. Mia nodded. "Okay Dad," she said. 

A lot of people showed up. The house was getting crowded each minute. "I'll step outside for air for a while," Mia told her parents and walked out. It was perhaps selfish but to be around all that sorrow and misery brought her mood down.

Mia never actually had to go through a death of a loved one and every time she even thought about it she lost her breath. It was just too horrible of a thing to imagine. She tried to put herself in the Clearwater kids' place. She actually got her dad after years, losing him would devastate her. 

She sat down on the porch and took deep breaths. She was sorry, for the family, for Charlie, and everyone who knew Harry Clearwater. Death was always a sad thing. 

Mia sat there for a couple of minutes. She took out her phone and replied to her friends who wanted an update on the situation. After scrolling through Twitter for a while, and getting accidentally spoiled for a TV show she hadn't had the time to watch the new episode for, she sighed and got up. 

It was still crowded inside and she decided to have a walk around the house. She put her phone back inside the pocket and started walking. It rained a couple of days ago and the ground was still muddy. And since she didn't think she was going to spend any time on the mud, she didn't wear her boots. 

Her sneakers were slipping because of the mud and she had to take her steps very carefully. "This isn't going to work," she muttered under her breath and decided to walk back.

She didn't prefer to fall down and get mud all over her. Not today. The worse thing about walking on the mud was that you never knew which part was denser or not and how deep you would get with each step. So far, her shoes had already been covered in it. 

There were a few people outside of the house. Some smoking, some just muttering to the people next to them. Mia was so close to the stairs of the house when she stepped way too deep inside the mud and lost her balance. 

She expected the impact and the wetness of the mud on her, instead, she felt two very hot hands grabbing onto her. Someone held her and helped her gain her balance again. "Thanks," she muttered. 

She saw him smile and he helped her to the stairs. "No problem," he said once he stepped next to her. Mia looked up at him, he was taller than her. He had short hair too. His skin was tan, just like Jake or Embry. His haircut was similar to Embry or that guy Jared she just met. His eyes were brown. 

And at the moment she looked into his eyes his expression changed. Mia didn't know what was happening but it was like all emotion drained from his face. The smile that was on his face seconds ago had vanished. 

"Hey, you alright?" she asked. It took him a moment to recover and answer. He blinked a few times and coughed. "Uh, uhm yeah. Just a hard day, you know?" he muttered. She nodded. "Sorry for your loss," 

"Thanks," he replied. "I'm Paul, by the way," he added with a little smile on his lips. "Mia," she said. "You're the girl who was talking to my friends earlier," he said after repeating her name. "Embry?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, he and Jared," he said. Suddenly, Mia made the connection. Paul was one of them. One of Sam's crew. Along with Jake. "So you must know Jake too then? Jacob Black?" Paul nodded. "Yup," 

"Do you know where he's right now?" she asked him. All of his new friends were here so she figured he would have been here too. Paul shrugged. "Don't know. But I was to guess, I'd say with Bella," 

Now that, Mia was genuinely shocked at. He had been ghosting her and now he was with her? But before she could question him more about it her parents walked out. "Are we going?" she asked her parents. "We are, Charlie's gonna stay for a bit longer," Liz answered. Mia nodded. "Okay, Dad, drive back safe," she said.

Charlie nodded and grunted. "Don't worry," he said. "I'll come by tomorrow," she said. He nodded again. Mia caught Paul watching the interaction. "Well, bye then," she said to him. "Bye," he said. Liz linked arms with Mia and they slowly walked to their car. 

"Have you checked up on Bella?" Liz asked once they reached home. "No. Was I supposed to?" Mia asked. "I mean... She knew him too. Charlie and Harry have been friends for a long time, she was bound to be around her," 

Mia shrugged. "We still haven't talked..." she trailed off. Liz pouted and got closer to her. "Honey, you guys are teenagers. Stuff happens," she said. Mia shrugged again. "Yeah, but I'm mad, and we haven't talked since... you know," she replied. "Yeah, do you want to talk about it?" 

"No," Mia said. She only vaguely told her mom about the fight. "Maybe I'll call her," she muttered at the end. Liz smiled and hugged her. "Do you feel fine?" she asked. "Yeah, why?" Mia answered. "Seems like you got a cold or something," Liz murmured, "Why don't you call it an early night?" 

The next morning Mia woke up to a couple of calls from her dad. Last night she texted Bella after the advice from her. There was no reply. Thinking something was wrong, she immediately called her dad back. "Mia! Do you know where Bella is?" Charlie asked. "No. Why?" she asked. Charlie sighed loudly on the phone. 

"Bella's gone. I came home and she wasn't there. I thought she was up in her room sleeping but no. Her truck's out here so I don't know where she is. I thought maybe you knew," he said frantically to the phone. 

Mia distinctly remembered the guy from yesterday, Paul, telling her that she was with Jake yesterday. But it wasn't certain so she decided not to get her dad's hopes up. " I don't... I'm sorry," 

After the phone talk, Mia got up and got dressed. Now that things were really taking a twist she was going to find Jake, hunt him down if she had to, and get some answers. Her plan was already in her mind. Luckily their car was there and her mom didn't need it for the day. 

When she got to the Black house she saw a guy walking toward the woods. He had short hair and incredible muscles. It took her a second to realize it was Jacob. She rolled down the window. "Jake! Jake! JAKE!" she started screaming. 

Jake halted for a second but then kept on walking. Why was the walking toward the inside of the woods? Alone? Shirtless? Then she spotted four other guys just like him, short hair and shirtless, at the edge of the woods. 

She drove a bit inside the lawn and yelled again. Jake didn't stop. So she started pressing the car horn. For a solid thirty seconds. Birds flew away from the top of the trees. Mia opened her car door and got one foot outside. "JACOB BLACK IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE I SWEAR I AM GOING TO RUN YOU OVER!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. 

That got Jake to finally stop. She saw the four guys disappearing inside the woods and Jake turning back. She smiled to herself with her little victory. 

Jack was stomping on the ground and honestly looked like a child. Her smile turned into a smirk as he got closer. "So he lives!" she exclaimed dramatically. Jake rolled his eyes and smiled. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered. "There wasn't any need to disturb the nature," She scoffed.

"I'm waiting," she said. He furrowed his brows. "You're the one who called for me," he said. She gave him an all-knowing look. "And you're the one who disappeared for days. Who owes me an apology and an explanation," 

Jake sighed. "You're here about Bella, aren't you?" he said. She nodded. "Look, she took off with that bl----, Cullen girl last night," he spat. "Wait, wait, what? Cullen girl?" Mia asked. Jake seemed pissed.

"Yeah, she was there when we got back yesterday. Then they took off together for _him, _" he growled. "Wait, so you two were together?" she asked. He nodded. "Yeah, we met up together in the past two weeks a bunch,"__

__Mia cursed under her breath. She had tried but it was unnecessary, her sist--, Bella, got it covered already. Her efforts were for nothing. "You didn't know?" he asked. She shook her head. "No... We haven't been exactly on talking terms for the last two weeks. I thought you still ghosted her," she said._ _

__"They took off where?" she asked. "Dad's freaking out, why didn't you say anything to him?" Mia questioned Jake. He sighed. "I was pissed off, didn't think about it," he replied. They stood in silence for a bit._ _

__"I heard you talked to dad," he said finally. She shrugged. "Yeah... and met your new friends too. I didn't believe Bella when she said..." Mia trailed off and gestured to Jake's new attributes. He chuckled. "Yeah... I heard about your introduction to the guys,"_ _

__She nodded. "You no longer think they're a cult?" she asked and he laughed. "No, god no. I was wrong," he said. "Good, good," Jake sighed and looked at her. "I've got to go now," he said. "The woods?" she asked._ _

__After he nodded she rolled her eyes. "God, I don't get you and your obsession with it," she muttered. His lips curled. "Later," he said and turned back to jog inside the woods. Mia sighed as she watched him disappear before getting back inside the car._ _

__Mia pulled outside of her dad's house. She wanted to tell him about what she found out and to see if he was alright. He lost one of his old friends the day before and now his daughter was on the loose._ _

__She knocked on the door. Charlie opened it after a minute. "Hey Dad," Mia said and hugged him, she could tell he really needed it. After the hug, she stepped inside. Charlie led her to the kitchen. Mia glanced at the empty beer bottles but didn't comment._ _

__"So I'm just coming from Jake's," she started, "Yesterday his friend told me that he was with Bella. Apparently the Cullen girl, I don't know which one, was here when they got back. And something happened, I don't know what happened but they went to Edward for some reason. I don't know where he is or where they've gone but I know she's with her,"_ _

__Charlie grunted and rolled his eyes at the mention of Edward's name. "Great," he muttered. "You... You'd think she'd at least let me know, you know? At least she told me last time," he said. Mia furrowed her brows. "Last time?"_ _

__"Yeah... She had a fight with him and left town. Last spring. Told me it was... whatever. She could have at least told me," he explained. Mia tried to remember the rumors she heard at school about the event._ _

__He sighed. "Just... I just... think that it's my fault. For both of you. I haven't been there for both of you. Maybe I can't do this properly, I suck. I couldn't even help her during these past five months. I'm trying, trying to do my best but I'm not cut out for this, am I? I just fail,"_ _

__"Dad, no..." Mia said softly and got up from her chair. They were sitting across from each other at the table. "I don't know about the situation with Bella but... you didn't know I existed. I don't blame you for that. And I think you've been doing a pretty good job ever since,"_ _

__His hand was on his face. He ran it through his face. "Yeah?" he muttered. "Yeah, I'd say you're a pretty good one. I'm sure Bella will have an explanation when she's back. But you did nothing wrong,"_ _

__Charlie put his hand over her daughter's. "Thanks, Mia," he said. She looked at him at smiled. She meant every last word. Her relationship with Bella may have been rocky but Charlie... they were good._ _

__"I love you, dad," she said with her full chest. Charlie looked speechless. He hugged her in response. "Love you too, kid,"_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so she met the pack but the action REALLY starts next chapter :D


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have one final left and I decided to update to celebrate that! It's on Monday and if it goes well I might update again since I'll be in a good mood!!

It was Monday. Bella was gone since Friday night. Mia tried texting her a couple of times. She even called her once. No reply. Charlie hadn't heard from her either. Mia was really starting to get afraid. 

She even took it to social media to try to find any of the Cullens' accounts so that she could get some information on Bella. There was nothing. No trace of them online. That scared Mia even more. This was turning out to be more of something from those crime shows she watched.

She checked her messages for the thousandth time before getting up from bed and start getting ready for school. Mia walked inside the kitchen with a frustrated look. "Mom, do you think I gained weight?" she asked.

Liz was in the kitchen with a half-eaten bagel and coffee on her phone. She turned to her daughter. "What makes you think so?" she murmured. Mia gestured to herself. "Look how tight this shirt is! It used to be baggy!" 

With a playful smirk on her lips, Liz got up to inspect closer. She pulled the shirt. "Could be the washing machine," she muttered. Mia rolled her eyes. "Yeah maybe," Liz looked up and squinted her eyes. "You look taller, maybe it's that," 

"You know female body..." Liz said as she walked back to her chair, "Keeps growing until we're twenty-two," Mia joined her. "I know, I know," she sighed and sat across from her mother and started eating the breakfast her mom prepared. 

Mia could feel her mom's eyes watching her as she ate. "Have you heard from Bella?" she asked. Mia shook her head. "Nope. Called her too, no answer," she murmured between bites. Liz pouted. "I'm positive she'll be fine and back in no time," 

"Yeah, yeah," Mia replied and grabbed her phone. Liz got the message and stopped talking, they both dived into their phones for the rest of the breakfast. 

Mia hadn't told her friends about Bella going missing. Her dad asked her to keep it silent until they knew more. They both thought they'd hear from Bella by then. They were currently in History where Olivia was telling them about her date with Jean from the day before. 

Mia was acting like she was listening but in her head, she was going over what happened over the weekend. Bella, Jake, the funeral, Jake's new friends, her dad. She should be paying attention to her friend, she knew, but she just couldn't stop. 

Caitlyn elbowed Mia. "You're not listening!" she shrieked as silent as she could without alerting Ms. Wilson. "What? No," Mia murmured. Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "Your body is here, your mind is not," 

"I know that look," Olivia smirked. "Ooooh, Tommy?"Caitlyn added. Mia let out an uncomfortable chuckle. "No, I haven't seen him since Friday," she replied. Tommy texted her a couple of times over the weekend and today but she didn't really reply. She knew he was annoyed but she had more pressing matters at the moment. "What's going on then?" 

Mia shrugged. She didn't like lying to her friends but she made a promise to her dad. "Nothing, couldn't sleep properly last night," she said. Olivia and Caitlyn didn't seem like they believed her but luckily Ms.Wilson asked Caitlyn a question and they had to divert their attention back to the lesson. 

History was the lesson before lunch and Mia was thinking she could either try Bella again or check-up on her dad. She knew he tried not to show her but he was worried beyond hell. The bell rang and the girls quickly started to gather their things. 

Olivia and Caitlyn were talking about something. Mia grabbed her bag and fell behind them as they kept on talking. When they got to the hall Mia realized everyone was whispering and gossiping. It wasn't like a normal conversation. 

"Hey, what's going on?" she asked her friend as she picked up her pace. Caitlyn and Olivia shared a look of disbelief. "Okay _now _I definitely know you haven't been paying attention since morning," Caitlyn said.__

__Olivia caressed Mia's arm. "Is everything alright? Seriously?" she asked. Mia nodded. "Yeah. Just tell me," she insisted. Olivia sighed. "The Cullen's are back," she said. Mia gasped. "What?"_ _

__Caitlyn nodded. "Yeah, they appeared at school this morning like they disappeared months ago. No one knows why," she said as they kept on walking. "Shit," Mia muttered. If they were really back that must mean Bella was with them too._ _

__She really must've been caught up in her mind that she didn't hear the gossip since the morning. The second they entered the cafeteria Mia's eyes went to the usual table of the Cullens. It wasn't empty anymore. And there were six people seated there instead of five._ _

__"I'll catch you guys in a minute," she murmured to her friends and started walking toward the table. Her heart was beating in her mouth. She could see Bella among the Cullens. She was the only one with long brown hair._ _

__Bella was sitting between Edward and Alice and her back was turned to Mia. Mia never had talked to Cullens before, except for once when Rosalie and she was in the same class and she had to ask her the project's due date. No one really talked to Cullens except each other and Bella._ _

__Mia took a deep breath. "Bella?" she said. Bella turned back. And so did everyone else at the table. Mia tried not to focus on them and only on Bella. "You're back?" she continued, trying to push down the weirdness she was feeling._ _

__"Yeah, yeah. Got back last night," Bella replied. Even her voice sounded more confident. There was something different about her. She seemed... happier. More alive. Bella turned to Edward. "Uhm guys... this is Mia. My... sister,"_ _

__This was the first time Mia saw the Cullens show this much emotion on their faces. Alice seemed most surprised. Mia was surprised herself too, Bella called her sister. "She's your sister alright," Mia heard Edward mutter under his breath. She had no idea what that meant._ _

__But before she could react Alice got up. "How nice! Great to meet you! Come sit with us!" she said with a big smile. That was surprising. "Ah... Uhm, maybe later? My friends are waiting for me. But thanks," Mia let out. She looked at Bella to say something, anything. She didn't, just gave her an uncomfortable smile._ _

__"Bye," Mia muttered angrily and turned around. Caitlyn and Olivia were seated on the other side of the room. Mia stomped over there and sat down with a sigh. She was sure her friends saw what happened and had questions but she was pissed so she took out her headphones and buried her face onto her jacket to calm herself down._ _

__The rest of the school day passed by like a dream. Mia didn't even realize when the last bell rang. Normally she had a club meeting after school but she was too out of it to participate. She found Angela Webber in her locker._ _

__She knew Angela was in Bella's friend group but they were acquaintances from the Debate club. "Hey," she said. Angela smiled at her. "Hey, let me grab my textbook then we can head to the meeting,"_ _

__Mia forced out a smile. "Actually... I wanted to tell you I couldn't make it today. Can you let the others know?" she asked. Angela nodded. "Sure thing, see you next week," Mia nodded. "Yeah, later,"_ _

__Once that was done she quickly walked out. Olivia was giving her a ride home. She saw Olivia and Caitlyn waiting for her by the car. She had to talk to them soon and give them some answers. She knew, she knew but it was just... to much. She was so angry. Too much was happening and she couldn't keep up._ _

__Olivia and Caitlyn got inside once Mia neared. Mia opened the back door. "Mia, can we talk?" Bella asked, appearing behind her. Mia sighed and put her bag in the backseat of Olivia's car. "Of course!" she exclaimed with a false cheer._ _

__Bella sighed. "Look, I know you're mad about before and we should talk," she said. Mia looked at her in disbelief. "Talk? Are you sure that's the only thing we should be talking about?" Bella pressed her lips together._ _

__"How about this weekend? Dad was worried sick! And you couldn't even pick up the phone?" she exclaimed. Bella looked down as she spoke. "It wasn't like that," Bella murmured. "Then what was it like?"_ _

__Bella sighed. "Look there are things you don't know... things I can't tell you. But I'm fine," she said. Mia chuckled. "You sure are. Your boyfriend's back, after all, you're complete," she spat. Bella didn't respond._ _

__"You're angry. Maybe we should talk later," Bella said. Mia took a deep breath. "Yeah? You reckon you can make time between hanging out with your boyfriend and Jake?" Mia replied. "Yeah, I know you've seen him. Might've been nice to let me know he's alright,"_ _

__" Jake... he's a different story. I can't tell you about it too..." she murmured. She looked sad. Mia scoffed. "Great," she murmured. "But if you see him can you tell him to return my texts?" Bella asked. Mia's mouth fell open. "Incredible," she muttered and opened the car door. She got inside without replying to Bella._ _

__Thankfully Olivia started driving and they didn't ask her any questions. Mia asked Olivia if she could drop her at the hospital. That was the only conversation in the car until they dropped her off. Mia was fuming with anger._ _

__She didn't exactly know why she was this pissed but she was. It was inexplicable. Bella just disappeared for a few days and when she came back her boyfriend along with his family came back too. And she didn't even have the decency to text her back._ _

___'She's your sister alright' _Edward had said, what the fuck did that even mean? And Bella asking her to talk to Jake for her? She saw him more than her. And how the fuck she even had the heart to ask that to Mia or even talk to her as if nothing happened two weeks ago? When Bella basically kicked her out of the house.__ _ _

____Mia groaned out in frustration. Olivia pulled into the entrance of the hospital. "Thanks," Mia muttered and got out. She walked inside to the nurses' station. Luckily her mother was there. Unluckily she was talking to Doctor Cullen._ _ _ _

____They were saying some medical terms. Some were familiar from watching hours of Grey's Anatomy. Liz seemed surprised to see Mia. She silently waited behind them to finish their conversation. She might be angry but her mom was on the clock so her job had to come first during the hours._ _ _ _

____Her phone started ringing. Mia was surprised to see that it was Jake. "Do you wanna come hang out?" Jake asked as soon as she opened the call. "Now?" Mia asked. "Yeah, I've got some free time," Mia sighed. She wanted to go home and watch her comfort shows in bed more than anything to get through the day. "Okay," she ended up saying._ _ _ _

____Doctor Cullen gave her a smile as he walked away. "Baby, what's wrong?" Liz asked. Mia threw herself to her mother and hugged her. Liz seemed surprised at that but she hugged her back. This was a day full of surprises._ _ _ _

____After everything that happened today she just needed a hug from her mother. There was also the fact that she had been feeling down for the past few days, her body ached all over. Liz brought her hand to Mia's face. "Mia, what's wrong?" she asked again. Mia shrugged and didn't reply. She hugged her tighter. Liz let out a small chuckle and kissed her forehead._ _ _ _

____"Oh my god, honey! You're burning up! Are you sure you're all right?" she asked. Mia took a step back. "I don't know, I feel down," she murmured. Liz pressed her lips. "You've been down to see Jake, right? Maybe you caught the mono too," she said warily._ _ _ _

____Mia grimaced her face. "What? Mom! I didn't kiss Jake!" she exclaimed. Liz tried to hide her chuckle. "Never said you did... but maybe someone else? His friends may have it too..." Mia rolled her eyes. "That guy at the funeral seemed cute,"_ _ _ _

____"Mom, I didn't kiss anyone," she sighed. Asking to get the car to hang out with Jake would just make her mom more inclined on the fact that there was something going between them. So she decided to change the topic. "So, Bella's back,"_ _ _ _

____Liz looked up from the chart she grabbed from the counter in surprise. "She is?" she asked. Mia nodded. "Yeah, saw her at school today," she replied. "Didn't you know? I assumed you figured it out with Doctor Cullen coming back and all,"_ _ _ _

____"Oh, yeah. I don't know, I've been busy that I didn't have the time to think about that," Liz said. "Yeah but you have the time to 'figure out' I'm making out with Jake," Mia shot back. Liz chuckled. "Well, I'm your mother. Not Doctor Cullen's,"_ _ _ _

____Mia clicked her teeth. "Can you get a ride after work? Jake called me to hang out," she said. Liz shrugged. "Sure," she smirked. Mia rolled her eyes as Liz handed her the keys. "Not to do what you think,"_ _ _ _

____Mia got inside the car. She immediately felt too big for the seat. She and her mom were about the same height so their positioning was the same. Or at least it used to be. She changed it to allow herself more room._ _ _ _

____Driving calmed her down a bit. Driving and singing was free therapy, honestly. She pulled to the lawn next to the Black house. Billy and Jake were out on the porch. Billy waved his hand at her. "Hey Billy," Mia said to him._ _ _ _

____Jake jumped to the lawn. He was wearing shorts and a hoodie with the sleeves cropped out. "Aren't you cold?" she asked, they were in winter. He was also shirtless the last time she saw him. He shrugged. "Nope,"_ _ _ _

____He came closer to her. "Have you grown? You seem three inches taller," he said. "Dunno," she replied. "So what do you wanna do?" he asked. "You called me here, you say," she said. He chuckled. "Fair point. Wanna take a walk?"_ _ _ _

____So they did. At first, they were just talking about stuff. In general. "So, I don't know if you heard yet but... she's back," Mia said, crossing her arms over her chest. They were inside the woods not surprisingly. She even joked about his friend jumping out and scaring them like before but Jake brushed it off._ _ _ _

____"Hmm, yeah. Charlie called dad this morning," he replied. "I hear they're back too," he added. She grunted. "Yup, saw them at school too," she said. Jake looked at her. "You don't like them?" Mia shrugged. "Don't really know them that good but... after the way they treated her. I mean, you know? Can't exactly say I'm fond of them,"_ _ _ _

____Jake nodded. "Yeah," he murmured. "What about you? Bella told me you haven't been replying to her," she said. She wasn't going to do what Bella asked her to do but she was curious. "Yeah, I'm still mad at her for leaving. For him. And a bunch of other stuff,"_ _ _ _

____"What other stuff? Mia furrowed her brows. Jake shrugged. "Don't worry about it," he said. That pissed of Mia. He was acting like Bella, she didn't answer any of her questions too, saying she couldn't tell her._ _ _ _

____"Fuck that," she snapped at Jake. He tilted his head. "Why don't any of you tell me anything?" she said. "You've seen Bella after she told me you were ghosting her. You've been hanging out!"_ _ _ _

____Jake sighed. "It was hardly hanging out," he said. Mia rolled her eyes. "You seem mad. Calm down," Mia gave him a look of disbelief. "Yes, I am! Good job Sherlock,"_ _ _ _

____"No one's telling me anything! Bella is acting strange, you stranger. You disappear for weeks and now you're... you're like this. Bella goes off to god knows where and comes back like nothing happened. I searched the Cullens online, there are no results. I was worried, afraid! And she acts like no big deal after what happened!"_ _ _ _

____Jake furrowed his brows. "What happened?" he asked. Mia's chin hurt from pressing down on her teeth. "She didn't tell you about our fight?" she gritted through her teeth. Jake shook his head. "And you? I thought we were friends!"_ _ _ _

____"We _are _friends," he said. "We both know you only called because Billy made you," Mia spat. "No," Jake replied. For some reason, Mia got even angrier. "Look, you're shaking. Try to calm down," he said slowly.___ _ _ _

______"I can't!" Mia exclaimed. "I've got a sister who doesn't want me, I am lying to my friends and it kills me. Everything's falling apart and I can't do anything about it. No one is giving me any answers. You, Bella... I look at my mom and wonder what else is she hiding from me, if there are any more she's hiding. I can't talk to my friends about my problems because I can't tell them about it. And most of my attempts get shut down by Bella. So you try to calm down because I FUCKING CAN'T!"_ _ _ _ _ _

______Mia could feel herself shaking with anger. She didn't need Jake to point that out. She had been angry for a while now and it was all bursting out. All she could see was red. It was like the more she talked the more it fueled her._ _ _ _ _ _

______Then, it happened._ _ _ _ _ _

______One moment she was inches away from Jake, trembling with anger and shouting at him, the next moment, Jake had taken a few steps back and looking at him in shock. The viewpoint had changed, it was like Mia was looking at him from above._ _ _ _ _ _

______She looked down and saw that she longer had legs. Human legs that was. She saw two paws. She saw torn clothing on the ground. Her eyes widened in fear and she tried to move. Her body hit something. A tree. Her head snapped. She had an animal's body. A fur. She was an animal._ _ _ _ _ _

______What the actual fuck was going on?_ _ _ _ _ _

______She turned back to Jake for help. Then suddenly she lowered her head. Voices appeared inside her head. She couldn't count them but there were a few, it kind of sounded similar but she couldn't pinpoint them._ _ _ _ _ _

______She looked at Jake. The voices hurt her head and she didn't know what was happening. "Mia... Don't freak out," Jake said calmly. Don't freak out? How the hell she was not going to freak out? She was an animal._ _ _ _ _ _

______Jake took a step toward her and she growled. He shouldn't come closer, she could hurt her. How did this happen? She was standing there a minute ago, how did she turn into an animal? What the actual hell was happening?_ _ _ _ _ _

______"You have to calm down," he said and Mia looked at him angrily. How could she calm down under these circumstances? Jake sighed. "Okay, look at me, and don't freak out," he said and started to take his clothes off._ _ _ _ _ _

______Mia turned her head away. "I said look at me!" Jake said and she turned back to him with a snap. She didn't want to see him getting naked even though she didn't know why. He stopped once he only had his underwear on._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Look," he said and then transformed into a wolf. A big wolf. Mia jumped back in fear. Jake, or the wolf, took a step toward her. _"Don't be afraid," _Mia heard his voice inside her head. What? She flinched as it happened.___ _ _ _ _ _

_________"Yoooooo, what's going on?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

_________"Who is that?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

_________"Someone else?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

_________"Who's the new pup?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

_________"I bet it's Colin"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

_________"Yayyy I'm no longer the new kid"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________So many voices, so many thoughts. It was pressuring Mia's head. What was happening, she didn't know and she was scared. The wolf in front of her took another step and Mia's heart skipped a beat._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________" SILENCE! SILENCE! SILENCE! WHAT THE FUCK!" her mind was screaming. So she acted on instinct. She turned away from the big wolf and started running. She had paws! And four legs! She wasn't used to it but she didn't have time to falter about it, she needed to get to safety, immediately._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________She realized that as soon as she started moving the voices disappeared. Jake's too. She turned for a second to check and saw that the wolf was right behind her. That only made her move faster._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Mia didn't know where she was going and she wasn't familiar with the woods. It seemed like she was just going deeper inside. She kept running. She turned around again and saw that the wolf was getting closer._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________She jumped from the opening. It was a road. Her head snapped up with a car's horn. There was a car coming her way. She felt frozen as she looked at the car. She was going to die._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Then something hit her from behind. It wasn't the car. It was the other wolf. It tackled her to the other side of the road and they tackled into the woods. Mia started to move her hands, or paws frantically to protect herself._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________She pushed the other wolf off, rolled around and started running again. She was running like her life depended on it, and it kind of was. The wolf growled behind her and that scared her even more._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________She reached a clearing. That was it, there were no trees to slow the other wolf down. She was going to die from the giant wolf. The wolf growled again and Mia started to slow down. She was tired from all of it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The other wolf stopped too and it seemed like he was trying to talk to her. Then, something even worse happened. Other wolves showed up. There were three of them. The black one took a step forward. It was like he was trying to talk too._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Mia looked between the wolves, trembling. The other wolves had furs of different brown shades. Mia reeled it all in as she examined the others, there was no way she was going to make it out alive between the four of them. She was dead._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The black wolf turned to the orange-brown one that was chasing her earlier. Was that Jake? Because he disappeared and the wolf emerged. Mia took a deep breath. Was she a wolf like them too? She was so confused and had too many questions._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________If she was in control of the wolf, if you could call that control, maybe Jake was too. So she turned her attention to him and him only. She tried to focus on him. She could hear him earlier, maybe she could do it again._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________"Mia. Mia, Mia!" _She heard his voice inside her mind. _"Sam, I don't know, she doesn't hear!" _he said. _"Sam?" _she asked him. Jake turned to her. _"You can hear me?" _he asked. She nodded her head slowly.________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________________"Jake... What's going on? I'm scared," _she said. _"We'll tell you everything. Can you please stop running away, please? We're not going to hurt you," _he said. She nodded again. _"Great, follow us," _he said and turned around.______ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________Cautiously, she did as she was told. The other wolves left some distance between them which was a good thing. Because she was still afraid of them. She got closer to Jake, but not too close, as they walked inside the woods. She didn't know where they were going but she trusted Jake that they weren't going to kill her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________It took them a few minutes but the trees started getting less and they got to another clearing and there was a house. Jake turned his head back toward her. _"It'll be fine," _she heard him say. This really was a day full of surprises.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo.... the wolf's out of the bag :D


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys so I just had my last final of the semester. I am free!!!! And this teacher is usually a pain in the ass but he wasn't for this time around and it was a fairly easy final which is why I'm happy and I decided to update!!!!! And since I no longer have school for a while I'm planning to do more constant updates, I usually updated once a week but I think it'll be more frequently than that for now. 
> 
> ALSO TW FOR THIS CHAPTER: ASSAULT

Mia saw the other wolves going the other way at the side of her eye. She focused on Jake instead. But from the split-second her attention was diverted, Jake, the human one, was standing in the wolf's place. 

She didn't realize earlier but his clothes were tied around his legs. He uncovered them and put on the shorts. He didn't bother with the hoodie. He took a step toward her. "I know you're confused and possibly have a million questions," 

Mia whimpered at that. _That _was an understatement. "But you're gonna have to calm down now. It's the only way to shift back to human," he said. Well, how the hell was she supposed to calm down after everything that happened in the past half hour?__

__She heard heavy footsteps. Sam, Embry, and Leah Clearwater were coming their way. Sam and Embry were in shorts just like Jake. And Leah had a shirt on. They didn't even seem fazed by the fact that there was a giant wolf standing there._ _

__But didn't Jake call the black wolf Sam too?_ _

__"We brought some clothes for her," Sam said. Then they all turned to Mia. She felt exposed as they all looked at her. "Let's give them some space," Sam said. Embry and Jake followed them as they walked away._ _

__Mia was left with Leah who was holding the clothes. No, no, no. Why was Jake going away? "You don't want them to see you naked, right?" Leah said as if she read her mind. Mia looked at her, she didn't want that._ _

__Leah sighed. "Okay, I know it's hard but you need to shift back to human. Try to calm down, your breathing, heartbeat... Try to pull your body together, imagine yourself in your human body," she said. She said the last part as if it was so easy._ _

__Mia tried. And tried. It took her a good ten minutes, maybe even more but then she found herself on her knees on the ground. "That was good," Leah said as she got closer. She gave her the clothes. "These will do for now," she said._ _

__Thankfully Leah turned back after that. Mia quickly got inside the clothes. They were itchy and a bit fit for her but it was better than the alternative, which was to walk around naked. "I'm done," she muttered._ _

__"Try to keep your emotions in check, okay?" Leah said. It wasn't harsh. Mia was about to ask why when she looked at Leah. She could hear her heart beating. When she focused on it she realized she could hear other heartbeats too._ _

__She heard leaves ruffling and the wind splattering the trees. She heard the water. She smelled the grass and animal scents. "What..." she gasped. "You'll get used to it after a while. Your senses are heightened," she explained._ _

__"How? How is... What's going on?" she asked. Leah sighed. "You're about to find out," she said and started walking. Mia started following her. They walked to the other side of the house. She saw Sam, Embry, Jake, Embry, and Seth in front of the house. Jared and Paul, the other guys from the funeral, they were also there._ _

__She walked toward Jake. He was the person she knew best and frankly, the one she trusted the most. "What's wrong with me?" she asked him. "Nothing's wrong," Jake replied. "Then how do you explain what just happened? People don't just turn into huge animals!"_ _

__"Regular people don't," Sam replied. Mia turned to him, furrowing her brows. What did regular people mean? "We have a lot to talk about, but you must try to remain calm throughout," Sam said._ _

__"Why do you all keep saying that? What happens if I don't?" she grunted, words coming out harsher than she intended. "It'll take time for you to learn to control your shift. When you get overwhelmed by emotions, most usually anger, you shift and it could cause accidents," Sam replied._ _

__Okay, that was fair._ _

__Jake started talking. He asked her if he knew any of the tribe's legends. Mia replied with only bits from what she heard upon her visits to La Push and what Billy said. So Jake started telling him about everything._ _

__The shifting, the soul-warriors, the gene, the cold-ones, the treaty, the pack. Sam intervened in some parts and went into detail. Mia felt like her head was going to explode from all the knowledge but she managed to remain calm although she could feel her hands sweat._ _

__"You must have the gene passed down from your mother's father's side," Jake said. "Billy thought it might happen, even though you're a girl," Sam added. Mia looked at him. "What do you mean?"_ _

__Jake pointed to Leah with his head. "You two are the only female shifters in the tribe's history," he said. Mia's mouth fell open. "You're joking, right?" she asked. He shook his head."Why only us?" she continued. "We don't know exactly," Sam replied. Fucking great._ _

__"I know it's a lot to take in but you're a part of the pack now. Things are going to change from now on. Your life is going to change," Sam said sternly. "You are going to cut everyone out of your life excluding the pack. You're gonna have to miss school for a while as we will train you and teach you. And you can't tell anyone about it,"_ _

__Mia blinked her eyes for a couple of times. "I beg your pardon?" she said. She started looking around at the other members of this pack. "I, I have a life. Parents, friends, a boyfriend!" She exclaimed and at that moment her eyes locked with Paul's._ _

__She saw him grimacing at the last word but she couldn't react as her heart skipped a beat and she lost breath. Her head started twirling and she had to lean toward Jake to keep her balance. Must be the shock of what Sam just said._ _

__"You can't expect or demand for me to do any of that!" she added. Sam sighed. "You have to. We all did and frankly, it's the safest for everybody," he replied. Mia got the feeling that this was not the first time he had to deal with something like this. She looked around to the other guys for support but they were all silent. She looked at Paul for an extra moment, also realizing her eyes diverted back to him throughout the whole conversation subconsciously._ _

__"Well, I don't want it. Any of it. I'll just stay out of trouble and everything will be fine," she gulped. Sam crossed his arms. "That won't happen. You'll have mood swings, everything will feel like it's going to set you off. You need to learn how to control it and you can't do it without us,"_ _

__Mia squinted her eyes at him. "We'll see about that," she snapped and turned around. She didn't know where she was going but with her new heightened senses, she at least had an inkling. She heard footsteps following her._ _

__Luckily it was only Jake. "I don't want to talk about it, I'm not going to join your little werewolf club," she snapped. He sighed. "We're not really werewolves you know," he smiled. She rolled her eyes. "Well, whatever. You know what I mean,"_ _

__"Seriously, Mia. You have to listen to Sam. He's only trying to help," he pleaded. "We all had to do it whether we liked it or not," Mia sighed. "Is that why you ghosted Bella?" she asked. He nodded. "I had to, we obey the Alpha's orders,"_ _

__"So what? I have to cut school, lie to everyone, cut my hair and get a tattoo?" she snapped. "Cutting your hair is up to you," Mia rolled her eyes at that. "You really can't ask me to do all those," she exhaled._ _

__" I meant what I said, I don't want any part of this," she added. "Mia," Jake said and grabbed her arm, making her stop, "And we mean what we said. Something could happen. I lost it when my dad said I looked weird,"_ _

__"But that's you. You don't know what will go down with me," Mia replied. "And you don't know if there won't be any accidents!" he raised his voice. "And there's also the fact that you won't be able to control your emotions around them!"_ _

__Mia furrowed her brows. They now stopped walking quickly and slowed down. "Them?" she asked. He sighed. "The vampires? Your senses are heightened for you to detect them anywhere," Mia hadn't thought about that part._ _

__"Is it likely that I'll run into them?" she asked, now quieter. He nodded. "Very likely. Practically every day, you saw them today," he replied. "Do you need to spell me out who they are or have you figured it out yet?" he smiled._ _

__Mia looked at him dumbfounded. She honestly had no clue. "Think about it. We only shift when one of them is nearby. Who did you come into contact recently? And are hella suspicious," he said. She didn't understand why he wasn't just telling her._ _

__Suspicious... Only one thing came to mind. "The Cullens?" she asked. He nodded. "That's why I don't like Bella being with him. Or even going off to save him. They're dangerous," Mia felt her heartbeat getting faster again. Did Bella know about any of this? Was she in danger?_ _

__"What's worse is she knows and she doesn't even care," Jake huffed. "What?" Mia exclaimed. Jake put his hands inside his pockets. "Yeah, she knows. About the bloodsuckers, us. There was this leech that we killed who was trying to kill her. And there's the red-head,"_ _

__"Trying to kill Bella?" Mia shrieked. Jake smirked. "Got your attention now?" Mia elbowed him. "Bella's in danger?" she asked him again. "She's always in danger with those leeches around her,"_ _

__Mia took a deep breath to process it. "Who else knows?" she asked. He shrugged. "Besides the pack the tribe elders. My dad, Quil's grandpa. Harry Clearwater used to be but since he's dead now... his wife Sue took over,"_ _

__Mia looked away. She suddenly realized she could see very far away. They were closer to Jake's house and she could make the exterior even though they were far. "Let's say I'm okay with all of this craziness... What am I supposed to tell my mom about it? Missing school, getting a tattoo, constantly being here? Do you think she'll let me?"_ _

__"First off, you're going to do it. You've got no choice. This is in your blood, you have to do it. Protect the tribe, the lands. Sam was right, your life changed the second you shifted. Second, most of us had to deal with parents who were in the dark but we manage, somehow. We have to,"_ _

__Mia huffed in annoyance. "That's fucking bullshit," she murmured. They walked in silence for a while. Until they got out of the woods. "Look, I don't care, okay? I'm not giving up on my life. I didn't ask for this and I'm not going to just let my whole life change. I'm seventeen for god's sake! I don't want to go to a bloody war with fucking vampires,"_ _

__"We don't get to choose," Jake replied. "Plus, the war is already on and you're a part of it from now on. We don't just get to reject and move on with our lives until they're gone. One way or another,"_ _

__Mia exhaled. "And I said I don't give a damn! I want no part of this," she said. Jake chuckled bitterly. "Look? You're already getting mad. What happens if your boyfriend annoys you? Some girl looks at you funny? Bella and you have a fight again? You need us to teach you so that you won't hurt anyone. Including yourself,"_ _

__Mia opened and closed her mouth for a few times to answer. She couldn't come up with anything. "I know it's scary. But you won't be alone. We're here, I'm here. You're part of something bigger now,"_ _

__She crossed her hands across her chest and bit down on her lip. They reached her car now. "Well, I don't wanna be," she said. "Don't tell anyone about this, especially Bella. I'll forget about this whole mess," she murmured. Then she realized it, when she phased, it tore her clothes. Her phone and keys were in her pocket._ _

__"Here," Jake said as he took them out of his pocket. "Jared and Paul got them while the rest of us were chasing you. You were fast, by the way, could potentially be the fastest among us," he said. Mia grabbed her things with a glare. "Not. Interested."_ _

__She got inside the car and made a break for it. She meant it. It was a whole day and she didn't want to be part of this. She could control herself, her emotions. Today was just a one-time thing. This was all unreal, it couldn't be really happening. There was no logic behind it._ _

__And frankly, all Mia wanted to was to go home and go under the covers._ _

__

__Two days passed. Because of her body temperature Liz totally believed when Mia said that she had a cold. Sam had explained the reason why they always had such high temperatures and she had no idea how she was going to explain to her mom why she was hot. But that was a problem for later._ _

__In the past two days Mia texted with her friends. They wanted to come see her but she didn't allow them to. Just because she wanted no part in this pack thing didn't mean she didn't take into account of what they said. She needed these two days to adjust herself and her emotions. She didn't want to cause an accident like they said and hurt someone._ _

__However that didn't stop Charlie and Billy from coming to see her. Liz told them. Charlie was worried about her when he heard and came to see her immediately. He even stopped by the hospital and got some medicine from Liz. Mia didn't need it since she wasn't really sick but she didn't mind it. It was obvious why Billy was there but thankfully Charlie didn't leave them alone for long for him to persuade her._ _

__She also asked her mom about their background. She learned that her grandfather was a relative of Billy's family, distantly. That meant they were distantly related to the Blacks. It answered her question of how and why she had the gene._ _

__Then, on the third day, Liz told Mia in the morning that Bella asked Charlie to come over to their house to see her. She wasn't in the mood so she left the house. She walked to the town. She even thought about texting her friends or Tommy to meet up. They had been checking up on her for days. But she didn't know what to tell them. It was a later problem as well._ _

__So, she mindlessly walked around the town. It was crowded than usual. You would think because of all the bear attacks and all, although now Mia knew the truth, people wouldn't come here. But they did. For hiking and camping and other outdoor activities._ _

__Mia had been home for the past few days and as she got closer to people she realized maybe coming into a crowded place wasn't the best idea. There were too many noises and smells. She still wasn't used to her new improved senses._ _

__There were murmurs of conversations, oil smell, heartbeats, and footsteps. Along with many other things that she picked up on. She crossed her arms and tried to focus on her breathing. It wasn't working out._ _

__The best idea was that she got away from all of that. She turned around and headed for the back alleys of the town, hoping to catch some serenity there. She walked for a couple of minutes before she realized the stable footsteps behind her. They were close for a while now._ _

__Mia turned around as if she was looking at to the building behind her to not seem too suspicious when she saw three guys. They each had flannels and jeans on. She didn't recognize them. They must've been the tourists who came by for fishing near the lake here._ _

__She picked up her pace and tried to get lost in the streets. She was really tangled between the buildings and didn't really know where she was going. Maybe staying in the main road would have been better. Damn._ _

__"Hey sweetheart! Wait up!" One of the guys shouted. Mia clenched her teeth and started to run slowly. _Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. _She kept telling herself. Sam's and Jake's words were running inside her mind. She was scared, sure, but she didn't want to wolf out and cause an even bigger mess.___ _

____But, of course, it had to get worse. Mia realized she was making a circle in the rush of getting away and she ended up turning to come face to face with the three guys. "Why so fast baby? Got somewhere else to be?"_ _ _ _

____Mia took a step back. "Cmon, talk to us," one of them said. "Get away," she said. The guys laughed. "Relax! We're not going to harm you? Are we boys?" he grinned. "Not if she keeps running away," the other one said with an equally ugly grin._ _ _ _

____"I mean it, get away," Mia said but realized her voice was shaking. The guys just laughed at that. One of them reached out and grabbed her arm. Instinctually she shoved him off. He fell to the ground a couple of feet away from them._ _ _ _

____Mia looked at that with widened eyes. How did he get so far? Was she really that strong? She didn't have much time to think about it as the other two stepped forward to grab her. She attempted to run but one of them grabbed the hem of her shirt and yanked her back._ _ _ _

____She pushed him off and his back hit the wall behind them. He slid to his ass. The other one looked pissed now. He tried to punch her. She wasn't fast enough to avoid him. She closed her eyes for the impact. And she felt it._ _ _ _

____But it didn't hurt as much as she thought or even caused her any damage. When she opened her eyes she saw the guy holding his hand and shrieking out in pain. The guy lunged for her in pain and she stepped back._ _ _ _

____Her back hit another body. The first guy she threw to the ground. He grabbed her by the throat. Mia felt her heart beating in her mouth and ears. So she did the first thing she could think of. She bit down on his sweaty and hairy arm._ _ _ _

____He loosened his hold on her with the pain. She elbowed him and turned around to kick him in the nuts with all of her power. He fell back holding his crotch. The guy from before tried to jump her but she pushed his chest._ _ _ _

____He took a step back. His eyes were flaring up with hunger. Mia grabbed him and threw him toward the guy who she pushed to the wall. He fell on top of his friend. Mia frantically started looking around._ _ _ _

____They were all on the ground and groaning in pain. She realized her face was wet. It was tears. So she, again, did the first thing she could think of. Jake said she was fast, she had never been the very athletic type before but it was before. Before all of this. She started running away._ _ _ _

____Luckily, this time, she knew where she was going. She stepped inside the woods and kept on running. Sure she wasn't as fast as she was a wolf but she was still faster than before. She ran for a good forty minutes._ _ _ _

____When she got closer to the house they brought her to the other day she started screaming. She saw Jake coming out of the house. "Mia?" Jake yelled. Mia saw others coming out too but she only focused on him. "Jake!" She said and then threw herself in his arms._ _ _ _

____He immediately caught her. At that moment Mia knew she was truly safe. She was so focused on running that she didn't check whether those men followed her or not. Not that she thought they could chase her through the woods for forty minutes all the way to La Push but still._ _ _ _

____It all dawned on her. And she let herself break. Tears already rolled down on her face ever since the thing happened but she let herself break down completely once she reached Jake. He heard someone saying something and some footsteps but she didn't care. "Mia, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Jake kept asking but she couldn't stop crying enough to answer._ _ _ _

____It took her fifteen minutes or so to calm down. When she looked up she saw only Jake, Sam, and Leah were there. "What happened?" Jake asked slowly. So Mia told them. Everything. "Do you think they're dead?" she muttered to Jake._ _ _ _

____"Don't think so," he replied. "Well, those pigs deserved it anyway," Leah scoffed. "Leah," Sam said but he didn't look angry. He kneeled next to Jake and Mia. "I'm sorry you had to go through that... But do you see my point? You've shown incredible control but that doesn't mean that's the case all the time. You need to learn control,"_ _ _ _

____Mia took a deep breath and nodded. "I... I didn't know... I was that strong," she murmured. Sam nodded. He had sympathy in his eyes. "Yeah... You have a lot to get used to," he replied. Mia wiped away the tears from her face._ _ _ _

____" I still didn't change my mind about it. I don't want to be a part of this thing. But I need to learn these new... abilities," she said. Sam licked his lips and glanced at Jake before replying. "Okay. How about this? We do a trial period. Spend the rest of the week here and we'll see?"_ _ _ _

____She chewed on her lip for a while. "Okay, that sounds fair," she sighed finally._ _ _ _


	12. Chapter 12

As promised Mia spent the rest of the week with the pack. She would leave the house right after her mom left for work and came back before she did. The nights she had the night shift were easier on her since she didn't have to sneak around as much.

The first few days were only about control. Most of the pack went patrolling when Mia was learning control. She'd only be with them when they ate together. Sometimes Jake stayed behind to be with Mia but it was usually Sam and Leah who were with her.

Mia realized Sam paired her with Leah most of the time given they were the only girls. Frankly, Leah's insights were much better on some parts about learning control. To teach her control the first thing they did was to make Mia shift back and forth for a while.

At the end of the second day, her shifting time was mere seconds compared to minutes from days before. The next step was to make her stay calm under tense situations so that she wouldn't shift out of overwhelming emotions.

Jake was mostly there for that part. He was great at getting under her skin to piss her off. Granted, he was the only one in the pack who knew her most to piss her off but still. Sam thought she was making progress which was a good thing.

"I'm thinking you can join us for the patrol tonight," Sam said one evening while they were having dinner at Billy's. Mia looked up at him. "I have school tomorrow morning," she muttered. Sam put the glass of water he was drinking back to the table. "I think one more week here would be better for you,"

After the training with Jake, he, Sam and Mia came back to Billy's for dinner. She didn't know why the rest of the pack wasn't involved but she didn't mind. It was easier to be relaxed around people she knew more.

"My mom won't let me. If I pretend to be sick for one more week she's gonna want to take me to the hospital," she said. Billy sighed and leaned back on his chair. "I might be able to help with that,"

They all turned to him. "She knows you came down here for the weekend, right?" he asked her. Mia nodded. She was home after a night shift and Mia couldn't sneak out so she had to say she was going to visit Jake.

"We could tell her Jake caught the virus from you and you back from him. And I'll tell her I'll take care of the two of you here so you don't spread it all over school," Billy offered. "That could work," Sam said.

Jake turned to her. "Yeah, you could stay at one of my sisters' rooms for the week," he said. Mia looked down on her plate. It was true that even she didn't feel in control enough to go back to school, around people. But she also knew her mother and she knew Liz would get suspicious.

Billy patted Mia's back. "I know how to handle Lizzy. Don't worry," he said. She looked up with a sigh. "Okay, then," she nodded. "We still also need to work on your... ability," Sam said. Yeah, that was the thing. The pack was able to hear each other's thoughts but Mia had the ability to turn it off. When she did, they couldn't hear her and she couldn't hear them. No one, not even Billy or the other elders knew why. Jake and Leah were jealous of that, given how little privacy they had.

And that was it. After finishing dinner Billy called Liz who asked to talk to Mia and she pretended to be sick. It seemed like she bought it, for the time. He was still on the phone with her while Mia, Jake, and Sam left.

They ran inside the woods for a while. "Now, tonight might just be eventless. But we could also run into the red-head. Trust your instincts but also don't do anything reckless. Try to keep in touch," Sam said to Mia.

Even though Mia now learned that the Cullens were vampires, she never actually ran into one properly. Not after shifting at least. Everyone said that she'd knew when there was one around but Mia realized how real and dangerous it was at that moment.

Jake slightly hit her shoulder with his. "Don't worry, I'll protect you kid," he said with a smile. She hit him back the same way. "You're older than me by few months, you don't get to call me a kid bitch," she scoffed. Sam looked around. "You two can pair up with Embry and Paul at the hill. Jake, you know which one,"

After Sam left Mia turned to Jake. "So, do we do this in human or wolf form?" she asked. He shrugged and started walking. "We usually stay human unless we detect a leech. Then we shift," he said. She nodded. Although she wasn't cold she wasn't in the mood to tore her clothes apart one more time.

"You annoyed you got paired with me?" she asked him after they ran for a while. She realized he was slowing down his pace and checking on her every couple of minutes. "Nah. I don't have to actually pretend to tolerate you," he chuckled. She smiled. "But wouldn't you prefer Embry or Quil?" she asked. He shrugged. "We're meeting Embry soon, aren't we?"

They reached the hill. It was dark but Mia could still see things perfectly. She looked around for a while. "How many vampires have you killed?" she asked. "One. So far. Bella called him Laurent. We've been trying the red-head but she's good at running away,"

Mia furrowed her brows. "So you guys don't have much experience too?" she asked. Jake sighed. "Well, it's an instinctual thing anyway. Cmon, you realized it, right? When we're wolves... we're still us but... there's also an animal part. A primal, hunter part. It usually takes over,"

"Hmmh," Mia murmured. She did realize upon her first shift and she ran away from Jake and the others that she was different. The wolf, her wolf, knew things that she didn't. Even though she wasn't a hunter but the hunted at that moment, at least in her mind, human Mia wouldn't be able to do half the things the wolf Mia did.

Mia crossed her arms around her body. She wasn't cold perse but the thought that just entered her mind sent cold shivers down her body. "You said both of them are after Bella, right?" she asked. They might not be on the best terms right now but still, the thought of a vampire killing someone, especially... especially her sister was a rough one. Even though they weren't at the best terms right now.

"Yeah," he sighed. "She didn't exactly tell me the history about it... But I know it was because of the Cullens. Why else?" he grunted. "I saw... A bite mark, on her arm. I never realized it before, she always kept it hidden but... It's there,"

Mia turned to him. "You think Edward did it?" she asked quietly. He shrugged. "I have no idea. But the one thing I know? A vampire around is never good news," he said. Mia raised one eyebrow. "You might be right about that,"

"He is definitely right," Embry said. They turned around. Mia was so focused on their talk that she didn't hear Embry and Paul approaching them. "Ohhh, cmon! I didn't jump you this time," Embry chuckled.

Mia rolled her eyes at him. "I would've got you this time anyways," she scoffed. Embry put his hands up in the air. "Alright," he chuckled. Mia slowly looked past Embry to Paul. He was standing behind him in silence.

She smiled at him. It suddenly felt very weird with Jake and Embry being there too. He grinned at her and Jake coughed. "Anyway... Let's go?" he said. "Yeah, yeah," Paul murmured. Mia looked down as they started walking, why did Paul grinning at her made her feel so... giddily inside? 

For the next three days, Mia kept on with her training. In the morning she would work on her control with Leah. Every night she joined the patrol with the pack. Other times she would spend time with the pack to get to know them.

They were all subtly telling her about the dangers of the vampires, the importance of the treaty, and the pack. They were all aware of the deal she made with Sam. That this wasn't permanent for her. They were trying to get her to join the pack fully.

The truth was, Mia was getting convinced. She really started liking the pack. Plus Billy was telling her about the legends of the tribe and highlighted the pack's importance and their relationship. She was still terrified about the whole ordeal but there was also a different kind of serenity in being with the pack.

The kind of feeling her mom said she felt after they moved back. Home. Belonging somewhere. No one she met so far in La Push had ever made her feeling anything but that. Billy called the pack her family. The whole tribe, in fact. Jake said the same thing.

She was starting to feel it too. The only regret was whenever she picked up her phone. There were dozens of messages and calls from Caitlyn and Olivia. There were some from Tommy too. Mia didn't respond to any of them. If she did, she'd had to lie and she didn't want to. Plus, she didn't even have a good lie for them to cover this whole mess. So every time she would read the messages from the notification bar, sigh, and put her phone away again.

Mia's training session with Leah just ended when the pack convened at Emily's house. They were going to patrol. Sam was giving off pairs and the areas of where each pair was going to go. Mia had been paired up with Jake, Quil, Leah, Seth, and Jared until now.

At last, he turned to her and Paul. They were the only two left. "You two are off today. Go get some rest," he said. "Really?" Paul asked. Sam nodded, he had a little smirk on. "Yeah, go on," he said and disappeared inside the woods.

Mia turned to Paul. Secretly she was happy about it. Paul... interested her. He had been friendly toward her for the past week, everyone mostly was but there was just something about him. A grin appeared on his face. "So, do you want to do something? Together?" he asked.

She smiled. "Sure. I know you've got a lot on your agenda," she replied. He furrowed his brows but still had the grin on. "What does that mean?" he asked. They started walking. " It's your turn to convince me, isn't it?"

He chuckled. "Well, when you put it that way... But I had something else in mind," he said. Mia raised her eyebrow. "You don't say,"

They walked for a while inside the woods, talking. He talked about the importance of the pack for a while too. Then they walked out of the woods and toward a house. The lights were off inside the house. He stopped at the edge of the house and next to the porch.

"I want to show you something," he said. He held onto the tip of the roof and pulled himself up. Then he jumped on the roof. Mia realized she was watching his muscles move as he got up too late. He had a smirk on when she managed to look at him. He kneeled at the edge and reached out his hand. "Cmon," he said.

Slowly she walked toward him and grabbed his hand. With her other hand, she held onto to edge of the roof like him. She had to jump a little to reach it, he was still taller than her. He pulled him next to him.

"Are you sure it's okay that we're on the roof of somebody's house?" she asked as they sat down. "It's my roof and it's okay," he replied. "Oh, okay," she blushed. Why did she blush? So what if he brought her to his house when they were alone?

He laid on the roof and put his arms under his head. She copied him. The sun was going down and the stars were visible. "I love the view up from here," he said. She nodded, mesmerized. "Yeah. It's beautiful,"

They watched as the sun set, the orangy-purply color of the sky became dark and the stars shined down on them. "I always came here to think," he sighed, "Of course I had to use the ladder before," he softly chuckled, "But this place helped me to calm down and think,"

Mia turned to him. "I spent a lot of time here after I first shifted. I had similar thoughts to yours. I thought that 'I didn't want this, ask for this. Why did it have to be me? Why do I need to take responsibility?' Back then the pack was only Sam and Jared. I was finally glad to know why my friend Jared had disappeared but I didn't want any part of it,"

"At least, now, even if you still don't want to be with us, there are a couple of us. Back then, if I backed out, there were only the two of them. Now I know that Ephraim Black's pack consisted of three people but... I was so angry back then. If someone else had changed... then I'd be off the hook,"

Mia bit the insides of her cheek as he talked. "Are you trying to say you regret your decision?" He chuckled and turned to her. "No. I don't, in fact, I don't know what the hell I was doing with my life before. It helped me put things into perspective, I suppose,"

"But you were too young. We all are. This is a big responsibility," she replied. "True," he sighed, "But we don't get any say whether we can shift or not. We only get to decide how to do the right thing,"

Mia turned her head back to see the stars again. "All I'm saying is... I get it. The way you're feeling. None of us asked for this but we have no choice. I mean, this is our home. And the vampires... they're the enemy. If we don't protect who else will?"

"Your... sister, for example," he said hesitantly. "If it weren't for us, she'd be dead by now at the hands of that leech. We got there last minute," he said. Mia furrowed her brows. "That could have been anyone. Wouldn't you protect her too if you were part of the pack back then?"

Mia took a deep breath. "I would," she exhaled. And not because it was Bella, no one deserved to die before their time, especially so that they could become a meal for vampires. "Let's say I'm okay with everything... what would that look like?"

He smiled. "Well, you'd be spending a whole lot more time here," he said. She chuckled. "Well, duh. But apart from that. Sam's rules?" she asked. "Other people can't know," he said nonchalantly.

" The treaty prevents us from revealing the vampires. And we can't just go around spreading tribe secrets. So... if you don't cut people out of your life you'll have to lie to them. Constantly. It'd be bound to break about the relationships anyway so...."

Mia sat up and huffed. "You make it sound so easy," she grunted. She heard him getting up too. "I know it's not... but it's the safest, for everyone. We are not who we used to be, we can't be normal like before. It sucks but it's the reality,"

There was so much she wanted to say about this but she had a question. "What about Bella then? How did she find out? The Cullens told her?" she asked him. As far as Mia knew Bella was neither part of the pack or the tribe.

Paul laughed bitterly. "Just as we can't reveal the leeches, they can't reveal us too. Her knowing is solely on lover boy," he said. "Jake?" she asked and he nodded. "He found a loophole around Sam's orders. It wasn't a pretty scene,"

She raised her brow. "You mean you were there when she found out?" she asked. "We all were. Quil, Seth, and Leah hadn't joined yet. Jake was the newest. She wanted answers from Jake and when we went to his house to collect him... she started yelling at us," his lips curled for a minute, "she punched me,"

Mia gasped and then burst into laughter. "No way, she didn't! Really?" she let out in between. He joined her laugh and glanced away. "Yeah, that's how she found out actually. After she punched me I got worked up and I shifted. I mean, I wasn't going to hurt her or anything, I just lost control for a sec. But Jake thought otherwise and well, we got into a little spar," he ran his hand through his short hair.

For some reason, that sounded exactly like Bella.

"What about my parents?" she asked him. "What about them?" he replied. She widened her eyes in disbelief. "Let's say I cut everyone out, like Sam said. I can't do that to my parents. I still live with Mom and Dad... I just got him in my life. I don't want to shut him out too..."

"Plus, I'm a girl. I can't keep cutting school and spending the nights outside. There are certain standards. You guys might not have that problem from your parents but I will surely do... " she muttered. He sighed. "I don't know... But it sounds to me like you're on board?"

Mia turned to him and tried to contain her smile. "Is that a yes?" he was grinning. She yanked his shoulder and chuckled. "Shut up," she said. He laughed back in response. 

The next morning, Mia had made her decision. She was going to join the pack but she needed to talk to Sam. She waited with Billy until Jake woke up. She helper her around the house for the most part. They were drinking tea when Jake finally woke up. As he went to the bathroom to take a shower Billy came back with coffee.

After an hour Jake and Mia made their way to Emily's. "So, how was last night?" he asked with a smirk. "It was fine," she replied. "Just fine?" he teased. Mia rolled her eyes and punched his arm. "What are you trying to say?"

Jake chuckled and shrugged. "Oh, cmon! Don't start!" Mia exclaimed but he kept laughing and started running away from her. "Jake! Oh my god, I mean it," she said and started running after him.

"Just so you know, nothing like you're thinking is going on," she said when she finally caught up to him. "I didn't say anything," he replied. Mia gave him the middle finger. Was that what everyone thought?

It wasn't true. Sure, Paul was a nice guy but... she had a boyfriend. Tommy. Oh, god, Tommy. She hadn't even thought about him for a while. She supposed he would no longer be her boyfriend given she had to break up with him now.

But it was because of Sam's rules. Nothing more. And just because she was going to break up with him didn't mean she would get with someone else... or Paul.

Luckily when they got there there weren't many people around. Mia walked up to Sam. "Hey, can we talk?" she asked. He looked like he was expecting it. "Sure, come on in," he said. They walked inside Emily's house.

"Emily's not here?" she asked. "No, she just went out for shopping," he replied. Mia liked Emily. She was nice. From the times when she allowed the others into her mind, she got the scoop of the whole Sam/Leah/Emily drama. But apart from that, she was always nice toward Mia.

Mia took a deep breath. "I've been thinking," Mia started, "About this whole thing. I'm in. But I have problems with your rules," she said. Sam nodded and put his hands over to the chair. "Let's hear it," So he did. Mia gave him a summary of what she told Paul last night. About her parents.

"I think I can manage everyone else. But my parents? No chance. If mom gets suspicious who knows? She'd probably convince dad to put surveillance on me," she said. "Is that the only problem?" he asked.

She nodded. She was grasping the whole situation, starting to see the bigger picture. Some sacrifices were needed for the greater good. And Paul was right, she didn't choose this but it had happened and she got to choose how she would react to it. She was going to do the right thing too.

"Okay. I can see how that would be a problem in your case. I'll talk to Billy, we'll try to come up with a solution," he said then walked to Mia. He put his hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Meanwhile, officially welcome to the pack,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> She's officially a part of the pack now!!! The chapters are gonna get longer from now on and the plot thickens(This time I'm only sticking to Eclipse-canon but after that it's free real estate!) Also, I recently changed my username so beware of that too haha :D


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small erotic scene?

Mia hadn't actually realized how hard it would be to keep up with Sam's rules. Going off the grid during the past two weeks helped her get used to being without her friends but it certainly prepared them for to bomb her with questions. She couldn't read their minds but she knew they were going to interrogate her. Or at least intend to interrogate her. 

But she had agreed to be a part of the pack, she accepted the responsibilities and she accepted Sam as the alpha. Her alpha. As a result, she had to obey the alpha's rules, whether she liked it or not. It wasn't up to her, there was this thing inside of her that literally made her want to follow the rules.

It was weird.

The first thing Mia did when she got back to school was to find the presidents of the clubs she was in and resign from them. From the way the others put it, it seemed like she was going to miss a lot of school already. The clubs' pressure would just be another burden to stress her out as if this whole thing wasn't stressing enough.

Before, Mia loved being a part of all those clubs. She wasn't doing them just to get into a good college, sure that was a good bonus, but she also liked being involved in them. It made her feel more productive.

It was a bummer and a whole bunch of lies to the people she knew but it was done. Luckily she managed to avoid Caitlyn and Olivia as she tracked those people down. She would get to class late and leave early and sit somewhere far from her friends so she didn't have to talk to them.

It was breaking her heart to do that but in the end, she decided, it was better to do this than to lie to them. Mia hated lying and being lied to. She barely got over her mom lying about Charlie. She didn't want to do it to her best friends too. If either option was going to get them hurt she chose the one that would make her have the clean conscience.

So, after the last bell, she bolted through the halls and then outside so that her friends wouldn't be able to catch up with her. It was mean but it was better than the alternative. She was in the parking lot, speed-walking, when she stopped.

It was because of a smell. It was distinctive and one Mia could make out quite easily from the others. It wasn't easy adapting to high-school with all of her new senses but after an hour she managed it. This was different.

She knew what it was. Sam, Jake, and the rest of the pack said that she'd know a vampire when she came across it. That she wouldn't be able to not realize it. It was true. Although she never had the scent of a vampire before the feeling in her gut was telling her it was them.

It was a weird smell, both too sweet and revolting, at the same time. Like pancakes with bleach. There was no way she could ever forget it again in her lifetime. She knew she wasn't supposed to but she turned around.

Her eyes landed directly on the Cullens. Not all of them. Edward and Emmett weren't there. It was Alice, Jasper, and Rosalie. They were getting inside a shiny BMW with a smile on their faces. "Yeah, no, I'm looking forward to it," Rosalie was saying.

Mia flinched when Rosalie's words reached her ear. It wasn't that weird when she was down in the rez but in a 'normal' environment, it felt weird to be able to hear someone from across the area. They hadn't realized Mia yet. Sam told her that just like vampires had a smell of their own so did the wolves and the leeches were able to detect them too.

She knew she had to go if she didn't want to be caught, either by Cullens or her best friends, but she couldn't stop looking at them. Now that she knew they were vampires, she just couldn't stop looking at them.

She felt stupid. How could she not know they were inhumane before? The more she looked at them the more she realized how stupid she'd been. Sure, the Cullens used to be a mystery ever since they came, both they and Mia moved to town around the same time and she was glad she wasn't the only new kid. She even thought they might bond over being new kids. They didn't.

But now, she just felt stupid. With a final look, she turned around and kept on walking. She needed to go home, leave her things, change and then go to Emily's. Mia negotiated with Sam, she would minimize cutting school and in exchange, she would give all of her spare time to the pack. Which was another reason why she left all those clubs. 

It was getting harder to avoid her friends. What's worse was that Mia could hear them talking about her in class. Think, talk and theorize why she was avoiding them. She didn't mean to pry on their conversations but it was hard not to when she could hear everything happening in the class and the next one over.

The only upside to Sam's rules was that she was free to talk about these things with people who knew. That meant Bella. Sure they hadn't talked since that fight in the parking lot weeks ago and she practically ran away from her when she was going to come to her house, but Mia felt calmer about the whole thing now. 

She wanted to talk to her, to solve the issue. But Bella was now avoiding Mia too. And she didn't know why. Whether it was from their last fight or the one before Bella took off or something completely else.

And Mia saw her hanging out with her friends from before. She sat with them at lunch too. Sometimes a couple of the Cullens even joined her. Sometimes she really wanted to say to hell with it and approach the table anyway but she would back off once the smell of the vampires hit her.

And it wasn't like she could catch Bella afterward. She would just take off with Edward right after school ended and she couldn't go to her. Not with Edward around. She just didn't comfortable around him or his family. Ever since she learned the truth and that they were the enemy species, there was just something about it.

Maybe Mia could talk it over with her dad. She hadn't seen him in a while too. She knew Bella knew about the whole supernatural things going on and that since she couldn't tell anyone about it was a reason why she distanced herself from people, Charlie. And Mia just didn't want to do that.

So she stopped by her dad's house before she went to La Push. His car was there which meant that he was too. If she was lucky maybe Bella would be there as well. She knocked on the door. Charlie opened it and she seemed surprised to see her there.

Once the initial greeting was done with, they got to the kitchen. "Bella home?" she asked. Charlie took out a beer from the fridge. "Not yet, she has until 4," he replied. "What's at 4?"

Charlie shrugged. "She's grounded... From taking off. She has to be home at 4," he explained. "Oh, wow," Mia murmured, she didn't actually think he would ever take this kind of drastic measures. "At least he's responsible enough to bring her home at the right time," he grunted.

She didn't need him to say his name, they both knew who he meant. A chill took over Mia once she realized Charlie, too, had come face to face with vampires, more than once. At least he was safe.

Mia got up to use the bathroom. As she got up on the stairs, she stopped again. There was that vampire smell again. It was inside of the house, inside Bella's room. She got alarmed by it but once she calmed down once she realized that it was most probably Edward. He was Bella's boyfriend whether she liked it or not and that meant that he'd be here. Although, probably without Charlie's knowledge.

Mia went back to the kitchen, stressed. Charlie was looking over some work documents. She saw a missing person's report. Charlie closed the file after she sat back down. "So, how have you been?" he asked. "After the cold, I mean. You've been down for weeks,"

"Oh, yeah," she murmured, "Must be a virus going around or something. Gave it to Jake too," she added. Charlie coughed and looked away at the last words. "Mono?" he grunted. _Oh, shit._ Mia did say it was mono at first, didn't she? _Fuck, fuck, fuck._

"It was the cold. Not mono," she said. "Oh, uhm, good," he muttered. "So you still with the Miller boy?" He took a sip from his beer. "Dad, do you really want to talk about my love life?" she asked. He shrugged.

He glanced away. "Do you talk with Bella?" she asked. He raised his eyebrows. "There isn't much to talk about with her. It's Edward only," he snarled his name. She smiled. "Tommy and I are over. Just didn't work out,"

He moved his head. "Okay, okay. Anyone new?" he asked. She let out an uncomfortable laugh. "Not at the moment, no," she replied. "How's school going?" Mia leaned back on the chair. "Trying to catch up. Missed a bunch in the past weeks,"

Her eyes diverted to her phone. There was a message from Quil, asking whether she fell on her way. She realized there were only fifteen minutes left until Bella's curfew. She could have stayed and waited for her but it was getting late and she needed to keep her promise. "I better go now. Got homework,"

He got up. "Okay, let me walk you out," he said. They walked to the door. "Can you also tell Bella that I need to talk to her?" she asked. He looked puzzled. "I thought you two weren't talking," Mia nodded. "We aren't. I'm hoping to fix that," He smiled. "Good, good,"

She went to La Push. Everyone was there already. "So she's alive," Jared smirked. "Shut up," she scoffed. 

Mia believed Charlie kept his promise. About talking to Bella. She was the problem. For the rest of the week, she tried to catch her but she kept on running. She was avoiding her and since Mia had to go to La Push, she couldn't catch him at home.

She decided to try the weekend. Surely she'd be home, she was grounded. She wasn't. Apparently, she flew to Floria to see her mom with Edward. She got pissed at learning that. She threw herself into the woods and started undressing. Not that she was wearing much in the first place since the weather didn't bother her anymore.

She shifted into the wolf and started running. She needed to get some steam off. Why was Bella acting like that? Sure Mia wasn't nice the last time they talked but those seemed like a lifetime ago. Surely Bella still couldn't be mad. Then why?

_Why? Why? Why?_

Mia came to an abrupt stop when she realized she reached a cliff. She almost fell down. She stopped and started taking deep breaths. She looked down at the ground to gather her mind. Emotional control, she needed to calm herself down.

She turned, in defense, when she heard a sound from behind. Other steps, coming her way. The leaves ruffled and that alerted Mia that whatever coming was big. And possibly dangerous. She checked the edge of the cliff to see if she was close enough and then prepared for what it was to come. The sound got closer and she bowed her head down, ready to attack.

Then someone emerged. Without fully looking at it Mia jumped forward. It was like the wolf part of her knew what to do, how to attack, just like they said. She dismantled the thing with her front paws and got on top of it.

She saw gray fur. And similar features looking back at her. It was a wolf. Not a regular one, someone from the pack. And the gray fur... Paul. She opened her thoughts and got off of him.

_"Oh my god, I'm so sorry,"_

_"It's okay... "_

_"I didn't hurt you, did I? I thought you were something else,"_

_"No, no. I'm cool. That was a very good offense move,"_

_"Thanks... What are you doing here?"_

_"I heard someone running. Came to check out. You seem startled... Everything okay?"_

_Mia started to really love this hearing thoughts thing because she just had to think about the whole Bella thing without even speaking and he understood._

_"I just don't understand why she's so distant. You should have seen the way she practically ran away from me yesterday at school!"_

_"Maybe she has a reason,"_

_"Yeah, she hates me,"_

_" I don't think she does,"_

Mia turned her head to him and whimpered. _"Cmon, what else, then?"_

He got closer. He nuzzled his head to the side of hers. _"She doesn't,"_

Instinctively Mia found herself doing the same. _"Maybe she just needs some time off like you did,"_

_"Yeah, maybe," ___

__He drew back and gently hit her body. _"Cmon, race you to the beach?"_ _ _

__Mia smiled. _"You're on,"_ _ _

__

___Mia was on her bed. There were hands on her thighs, caressing them, and lips. Lips on her hip. Giving little kisses. Her eyes were closed. She felt a chill starting from where the lips were. She opened her eyes._ _ _

___Paul was on top of her. He had his cocky grin on. His hands traveled to the hem of her shirt and ripped it open. His hand slid upward painfully slow, toward her breasts. He pushed himself against her and towered over her face._ _ _

___He leaned in and captured her lips. She let out a moan. He deepened the kiss. One of his hands traveled down. He grabbed her wrists with his other hand and put it over them. His fingers landed on top of her clit._ _ _

___He pulled his lips from her mouth to her neck and he bit it lightly as his finger flicked her clit. Her head moved up, allowing him more space to dive his face into as his fingers continued to move. He drafted his lips down to her breasts. He captured her nipple between his teeth. Mia let out another moan._ _ _

___"Are you ready?" he asked against her skin. His voice was raspy. Mia pressed her thighs together, capturing his hand, and nodded. He looked up from between her breasts and his lips twirled into a smile. She felt his fingers going down from her clit to her--_ _ _

__Mia awoke with a gasp. She pressed her thighs together, just like seconds ago, and felt the wetness. "Fuck," she muttered. She rolled over in her bed. Was that really a dream? And why did it feel so good? And Paul... Oh, god._ _

__Was it appropriate for her to have a dream about him? Especially a sex dream? They were friends, pack mates, hell, they might even be distantly related too. This was bad. Bad. Bad. Mia had _just_ broken up with Tommy._ _

__There were too many things running around her head. But the dream was still replaying inside her mind too. How would she be able to focus on anything with those images in her head? Worse, how would she be able to be around the pack?_ _

__It was clear, she wasn't going to hear their thoughts or allow them to hear hers until she got this... whatever it was out of her mind._ _

__She got up from the bed and had a cold shower. It was a good start, was it not? After that, she got dressed. She still couldn't get the dream out of her mind. It was probably her hormones, that was all._ _

__She had been on edge for weeks with everything that happened, her dad, Bella, the whole learning the existence of vampires, shifting into a wolf. And he was there. Just that. He had helped her yesterday which was why her mind was doing this to Mia._ _

__It could have been anyone, hell one of the actors on TV for all she knew if she watched something before going to bed. Right? It wasn't her fault that he was around her constantly for the past weeks-- practically naked._ _

__And his face wasn't that bad either... Who was she kidding? He had a good face. Those eyes and the way his hair damped after patrols. The way he flicked his tongue when messing with Jared and that damned cocky grin..._ _

__Fuck, fuck, fuck, no. No, no, no, no. This was wrong and it didn't get the image out, at all. It was doing the opposite. Mia put her hand on her chest to check her pulse. It was beating like crazy. And blood rushed to her cheeks. This was bad._ _

__It took her a while but Mia finally made it to Emily's. Sam had them patrol during the day but not as much as the night. So there would be fewer of them today. She was talking to Jake when Paul and Jared got out from Emily's._ _

__They were playing around and chuckling. Mia felt her eyes widen, the images from the dream coming back, blood rushing and sweat dripping from her neck at the sight of him._ _

__"Just the four of you today," Sam called from inside the house._ _

__Well, fuck._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have absolutely no belief in my "spice" writing but I tried my best


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still can't figure out how to properly make italics so apologies for that. I'm pretty dumb when it comes to computer stuff :/ Once I figure out I'll go back and fix it on all the chapters

Once the patrol was over and the pack met again at Emily's house it was about 5 AM. "I'm starved," Jared pouted silently. Emily was sleeping inside and Sam looked like he just got out of bed to talk to them.

"Me too," Paul said. "Me three," Jake agreed. Mia was hungry as hell too. Ever since she shifted she got hungry a lot more often and ate a whole lot more. Being a wolf was energy draining. "I bet Quil's still awake playing that game. Maybe we can order pizza?" Jake asked the group.

"I'm in," Jared said. "Yeah, I could go for pizza," Paul snickered. "You still owe me from the race," he added. Jared rolled his eyes. "You won by a second," he muttered. Jake chuckled and took out his phone. "I'm texting Quil to order the pizza,"

Jake turned to Mia. "You in?" he asked her. Mia's eyes diverted to Paul. God damn it, why did she always have to look at him? And why did he look like that? "Sorry guys. Gotta go back home," she murmured.

"Cmon! Aren't you hungry?" Paul asked her. She shrugged. "I am. But the sun's almost up," she replied. Jared stepped next to her and elbowed her. "So what? Are you a vampire?" he chuckled, pronouncing the last word with a funny accent.

Mia rolled her eyes and chuckled. "No. It's my mom. I just can't, okay? See you guys later," she quickly said and started jogging away from them. She was the only person out of the whole pack who lived outside of La Push. For them, after their duty was done, it was maximum of twenty minutes to get home.

For Mia, who lived in Forks, it was a whole other story. And because of the whole secrecy and the weird hours, she couldn't even take the car. So she had to jog to La Push every time. Sure she was a lot faster now that she was a wolf and it helped build her stamina but, cmon? No one liked extra physical activities unless if it was absolutely necessary.

When Mia got home it was nearing 6 AM which meant that Liz would be up soon, if she hadn't already. She got inside the house as quietly as possible. "Amelia. Kitchen." Liz called out. "Shit," Mia murmured under her breath.

Her mom only called her by her full name when she was pissed. As moms often do.

"Hey, mom," she sounded cheerful as she entered the kitchen. Liz was still in her pajamas and Mia could smell the coffee brewing. Which meant if she was ten minutes earlier she wouldn't have got caught.

Liz smiled at her but it wasn't the motherly affectionate smile. It was the 'you're caught motherly' smile. "Just coming in?" she asked. Mia smiled. "Yeah. Morning run," she tried to play it off. "Hmm," Liz murmured, "Since when do you run in the mornings? Or at all?"

Mia forced out a smile. "Well, you know, I told you I gained weight. I'm trying to lose some," she said and hoped her voice didn't get higher like it did when she lied. "With that cold out there, dressed like that?"

"Running keeps me warm," the words rolled out of her tongue. Liz looked suspicious. "What are your plans for today?" she asked. "Nothing much. Some school work and relaxing," she focused her eyes on the oven. Liz upped her eyebrows in surprise. "No hanging out with the girls?"

Mia sighed. "Nope," she replied. "Mia," Liz said and she looked at her mom. "I ran into Olivia's mom at the grocery store yesterday. She tells me you and the girls haven't seen each other in a while,"

Before Mia could answer Liz continued. "Charlie also tells me you and Tommy broke up. I knew it was a new thing but I thought we talked about these things," she said. Mia took a deep breath. "I just have a lot on my mind,"

"Senior year is coming up, I have to start thinking about my options and you know. I'm busy. I also have a lot to catch up on the school I missed," she said. She honestly felt bad about lying and how easy it was. But she couldn't tell her the truth, she literally couldn't.

Liz pressed her lips together as she thought. "Bella too?" she asked. Mia nodded. "Sure, that too," she said. It did really bother her but it wasn't the main thing. However, it was something her mom knew about and they could talk about to an extent, so yeah, she could count that too.

"Mom, if it's okay, can we talk about this later? I'm really tired and just want to get some more sleep," she said. Liz looked like she had much more things to say but she just nodded. "Of course, sweetie," 

Mia woke up in the afternoon. After eating breakfast and chilling for a while she sat on the table in the kitchen with her books. She really did need to do some homework. There were maths, literature, and history.

She just needed to read three chapters for literature and she could do that later on. She had four pages of math and an essay on history, specifically on the market revolution. She was halfway through the maths homework when the door was knocked.

Mia recognized the smell on her way to the door. "What are you doing here?" she asked Jake after opening the door. "Hello to you too," Jake smiled and stepped inside. "Just dropped dad off at your dad's," he said as he settled into the couch.

"I have homework," Mia said after closing the door. "You can do it later. Cmon, let's hang out," he said. Mia rolled her eyes. "I can't," she said. Jake rolled his eyes. "Cmon! School's practically over in a couple of months!"

Mia wanted to scream. "Yeah, three months! A lot to do!" she exclaimed. "Two and a half months at best," he said. She couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm serious," she said. "And I'm Jacob," he replied. She put away her homework in frustration. "I hate you!"

About forty-five minutes later they ended up inviting Embry and Quil too. They all settled into the couches in the living room and started watching TV. There wasn't anything good on there because of the game so they ended up watching a reality program. Quil offered to turn it into a game where every time someone said something cringe-worthy or embarrassing they each had to hit their foreheads with their hand and the last one took a shot of soda.

"Cmon Jake! Keep up man!" Embry hit his shoulder. "You're last, again," he continued. Jake took another shot of the soda. "Keep this rate and you'll make love to my toilet," Mia chuckled. Quil leaned back on the couch and put his hands under his head. "Fun for us either way,"

Jake gave him the middle finger. "Oh, god. Is this about Bella again?" Embry groaned. Mia turned to Jake. "What about her?" she asked. "He thinks she might turn into one, you know? With her being away and all," he clearly looked bored with the topic.

"Turn into what?" Mia asked. "One of them? The Cullens? She went away, yeah?" Embry said. Mia's mouth fell open. "What?" she gasped. Was that even a possibility? Bella knowing about the supernatural and dating a vampire was one thing but her becoming one? That was on a whole other level.

"Jake?" she murmured. He just shrugged. "I mean, she chose them, him. Didn't she? I know she thinks about it," he replied. "We call her the vampire girl," Embry said. Mia sat up straight on the couch. She never actually thought about it. Bella... as a vampire.

"She wouldn't do that. What about dad? She just... wouldn't," she murmured. Quil shrugged. "If they turn her, they break the treaty. So we kill them. At least we'll get rid of the problem if that happens,"

Mia turned to Quil. "We are _not_ killing my sister idiot," she spat. Quil didn't seem fazed. "She doesn't seem to take you into account much, why do you take her?" he muttered. Mia didn't have a reply for that. She got up from the couch, frustrated.

"I'm gonna go take a shower before we head to La Push. You can hang out here," she said and stomped on her way to the bathroom. It was almost time for them to get to Emily's for today's pack duties.

After Mia took a shower and got dressed they walked to Charlie's house. They spent a couple of minutes inside, chatting with Charlie and Billy, then Billy drove them to La Push. Mia was happy to see that her dad seemed better after losing Harry Clearwater, at least as better as he can be.

The sun had started to set when they got on the road. It was completely dark by the time they got to Emily's. The whole pack was there when the four of them got there. "What's the occasion?" Quil asked the group.

"Leah and Seth saw the Cullens during their patrol. They were feeding," Sam said. "So? Don't they leech on a regular basis?"Jake asked, crossing his arms. "Not this soon. I have a hunch something will happen,"

"The red-hair?" Jared asked. "We will see," Sam replied. He then turned to Mia. "Keep your thoughts open today. We don't know what we'll walk into," he said. Mia nodded but she wasn't happy.

She was barely able to get that dream and her excessive thought about Paul out of her mind. How was she able to keep it from the entire pack? She was doomed. "We'll go with three groups of three," Sam said.

Mia stepped next to Seth and Leah. There were already some groups set inside the pack and although they shifted sometimes some pairings were obvious. "Can I go with Leah and Seth?" she asked. Sam nodded. Mia tried really hard not to look or think about Paul until the groups separated.

Seth was going in front of the girls and they were behind him. "I know you have your own reasons, but thanks," Leah murmured. Mia turned to her. "What do you mean?" she asked. Leah shrugged.

"You're not stupid, so don't act like it," she said. Mia sighed. She was aware of how the guys treated Leah and how she was almost always with Seth. If Mia didn't volunteer to be with them, chances were that Sam had to be with them. And they all knew how uncomfortable that'd be.

"Girls gotta stick together, right? Don't mention it," she said. Leah's lips curled up for a second. Mia and Leah didn't really talk much, she knew she lost her dad and she was still trying to cope up with that on top of her and her brother shifting. But that wasn't enough or any reason to be mean to her.

"So you guys haven't actually come across one too, right?" Mia asked. "We did," Seth replied from about two meters ahead of them. He sounded enthusiastic. "The red-head. We chased her but she was good at getting away,"

Seth stopped and looked at Mia. "You know, you're really fast. Could be the fastest among us. I mean, I'm the best, but you're good," he said with a smile. Leah just chuckled and playfully ruffled his hair since they reached him. Mia, once again, realized how young he was, how they all were.

"Maybe you could be the one to catch her. And we'll kill her," Seth continued. A chill ran alongside her back. Mia didn't want to admit but she was scared of facing a vampire. Sure, there were Cullens but they weren't dangerous. At least not as dangerous as these other vampires. And the thought of coming across one, fighting one, scared her.

She never shared it with the pack but how else was she supposed to feel? Should she believe in the others who said her instinct would take over? Was it really something she could really count on in a near-death situation? Because handling a vampire would be a near-death situation, if not a permanent death.

They kept the patrol for a couple of hours. Mia reckoned it was a bit after midnight now. "I think Sam's hunch was wrong. We've been here for hours," Mia muttered. She had patrol the night before and the day before that too. Sam was making her come because she was still the rookie so she'd have better control but she was honestly getting exhausted.

Leah just shrugged in response. Seth was still enthusiastic about it all, he still had a little smile on as he looked over. "I think it's fine. At worst, we're getting fresh hair," he said. Mia wished she could be half as optimistic as him. All she wanted was to go to her bed and sleep for a month straight.

Then, they heard a howl. "Great," Leah sighed while Seth started grinning. "Yes, action!" he cheered. Leah and Mia shared a look before they started running toward the howl and shifted to their wolves in the meantime.

It was Sam, Paul, and Jared who sent the message. Mia turned on her thoughts, she called it turning it on and off, and all the voices started to flock to inside her mind. Luckily, or unluckily, she wasn't sure yet, their group was closer to Sam's.

Jake, Quil, and Embry were farther away from them. Jared had his eyes on the red-head. They had also seen the Cullens. Sam's hunch turned out to be true after all. They all joined in on to the chase.

Mia was still getting used to the thoughts of everyone else in the pack. She usually turned it off, her pair would alert her if something was wrong, which usually wasn't since she joined the pack, and it was a tad hard to focus with all the guys debating in her mind.

The red-head got inside her eyesight. Mia took a deep breath. She was the enemy and she was close. Mia hadn't realized but she was already ahead of most of the pack and next to Jared, who was the closest to the red-head.

Mia could spot the Cullens from the side of her eye. They were running after the red-head too. Mia hoped that they were the ones who caught her so that she didn't have to deal with her and also that this would be over.

But, of course, the red-head was really an expert at running away. Mia thought that if the red-head was to have a superpower, it would probably be to run away. There were at least a dozen people after her and she didn't even seem that bothered.

Mia almost got close enough to bite her clothing that she jumped to the other side of the river. That was the Cullen's territory. Mia kept on running. The red-head was jumping back and forth between their territories so no one was able to get to her.

Grey fur came into Mia's eyesight. She didn't need to look to know who it was. Goddamnit, was she thinking about him in this situation too? She tried to keep him out and she picked up her pace to leave him behind. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

_"Guys, guys, LOOK OUT!"_

Someone shouted inside her mind. Mia didn't know what but then she heard the sound. She turned around to see. It was Paul and Emmett. He had jumped to their territory so Paul jumped him.

_"So what that bloodsucker thinks he can just step on our land? Like that?"_

Mia couldn't see much of the interaction but she could see the glares. Paul was standing like he was ready to attack if Emmett was. Mia was so close to the red-head now. The scene back there distracted her too. Was Paul okay? Mia could catch the vampire, she was so close. When Emmett walked away Mia saw Paul getting on his knees. Was he hurt?

Suddenly Mia slowed down. And then she turned around. She ran full speed toward Paul. The rest of the pack ran after the vampire but she ran at him.

_"You okay?"_

She felt like she was screaming but since this was all inside their heads, she couldn't really tell. Paul got up again. He jumped back on the road but he was limping.

_"You're not!"_

Paul turned his head toward her and shook it. He shook his leg too and proceeded to go after the pack. Mia jumped in front of him, it wasn't that hard.

_"How much does it hurt?"_

_"It'll be fine,"_

_"Let me help you,"_

_"I'm fine, really,"_

Mia heard the others coming back. She also heard them talking about how she got away. Sam moved his head toward Paul.

_"You ok?"_

_"Yeah,"_

_"He's limping,"_

Paul turned to Mia and whimpered.

_"Rest for a couple of hours, it'll be better. We lost the red-hair anyway, everyone get some rest,"_

After Sam's order, everyone started to go back. Mia walked next to Paul. She was fading out everyone else from her mind on focusing on him. She moved her head to tell him to follow her. She walked between trees and shifted back to her human form and got dressed.

"I have a hunch you won't rest so I'll make sure that you do," she said, putting her hands to her waist. Paul whimpered again but she gave him a glare. At the end of the minute, Paul walked behind a tree and came out a moment later back in human form, wearing shorts.

"You're bossy," he muttered. Mia walked next to him and held onto his waist. He put his arm over her shoulder for support. "Sure am," she muttered in the same tone. One of the benefits of being a wolf was that she was stronger so it wasn't really hard when he gave his weight to her.

He was limping. "It really isn't that bad," he said after ten minutes of total silence. "You're wincing every couple of steps," she replied. He scoffed. "You heard Sam, we have super healing, it'll be fine by noon,"

She raised her head toward him. "I know that, but it still doesn't mean you have to suffer when you can't walk properly," she huffed. "Fine," he replied and they walked in silence for the rest of the road.

Mia helped open the door and for him to sit down on the couch. The sun started to come out about five minutes ago. "Can you pass me that bottle of water?" he asked. Mia nodded and did as told.

"If you're hungry or anything, there are some leftovers in the fridge," he said. "Good thinking! You need to eat," Mia said and rushed to the fridge. There were a bunch of burgers in there. "You call this leftovers?"

She heard him chuckle. She took them out and heated them up in the microwave. "Eat," she ordered as she put them down to his lap. "Only if you eat too," he said. "You must be as hungry as I am,"

Mia looked outside of the window. The sun was now shining which meant that her mom was awake, and probably pissed. "Well, if I'm gonna get in trouble, it'd be best if it wasn't on an empty stomach," she said and sat down next to him and grabbed one.

"Why did you stop anyway? You almost had her," Paul said. Mia was now cupped up on the couch, eating the burger. "I saw you getting hurt. Wanted to make sure you were alright," she said after her last bite.

Paul flicked his tongue and turned away from her. "Well, at least you're still not avoiding me," he said. Mia furrowed her brows. "What does that mean?" she exclaimed, her voice getting higher. He gave her a disbelieving look.

" I am definitely not avoiding you," she said. He grinned. "Sure," he replied nonchalantly. Mia finished her burger. "How's the pain now?" she asked. He sighed and looked at his feet. He moved it around. "Already better,"

He took a deep breath. "I didn't do anything wrong, right?" he asked. Mia furrowed her brows. "What? No! Of course not," she replied. He nodded then he turned to her and put up his hand on a fist. "Friends?" he asked. Mia couldn't help but smile. "Friends," she replied and fist-bumped him. "Okay, I'm going to the bathroom," he said and got up. Mia saw his limp was better now. She laid her head on the edge of the couch. 

Mia woke up in a bed. And it smelled familiar too. It smelled like... like Paul. With the realization, she jumped awake. She was in a room, in a bed, alone. There was a blanket over her. She heard noises from the living room, where she apparently fell asleep.

"Paul?" she murmured as she stepped into the living room. He was on the couch, watching TV. "Hey," he said. "Hey," she replied, visibly confused. "You were asleep when I got back. Dad was about to wake up, I didn't want to bother you. You seemed tired enough," he explained.

"What time is it?" she asked. It seemed like it was morning, maybe even noon. "I'm so dead," she sunk to the couch and buried her face in her hands. "Relax, my dad's cool," he said. She looked up and glared at him. "No, my mom! She is going to kill me!"

He puffed his lips. "Don't worry. Jake called a while ago. Billy covered for you," he said. "He did?" she asked. Paul nodded. "Yeah. He told her that Jake was upset yesterday so you came over. Then stayed the night,"

Mia let out a deep breath. "She is still going to kill me for not informing her," she huffed. "Then it's a good thing you cannot be killed that easily," he replied. She couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, thanks for letting me crash," she said. He nodded and smiled. That damn smile.

After her crisis was over, Mia realized Paul had taken a shower. It probably happened shortly before she woke up too because she could now smell the soap very clearly. And, of course, the image of Paul taking a shower popped into her mind. With all of his muscles out in the open, naked, and then she imagined herself there too--

She took a deep breath. She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks. She really needed to stop thinking about these things. They just agreed to be friends a couple of hours ago, she couldn't think of her _friend_ like that.

Luckily for Mia, Paul didn't seem to realize how flushed she got. "Well, since this is practically your last day on Earth anyways, can you ditch school? Come with me to Emily's," he said. "We usually hang out there in the mornings. I hear Emily's making muffins too,"

Mia chewed on her bottom lip. "You're not wrong... I should get to enjoy my last day alive, right?" she said. She didn't really feel like going to school anyway. She hadn't even finished her homework thanks to Jake yesterday. Plus, she didn't really feel like avoiding Caitlyn and Olivia all over again after the night she had. "Great," he chuckled.

Everyone except for Seth and Jake were there when Mia and Paul got there. Seth probably couldn't ditch school as he was the youngest. "I told you he was all healed up," Jared smirked as he took a bite out of Emily's muffin.

"I mean, if I had a personal nurse too," Embry snickered. "Did she kiss away the pain?" Quil talked in a baby voice. Mia laughed. She was also a bit uncomfortable about the whole thing they were insinuating but still. It was funny.

"Mia, I hurt my elbow. Can you kiss away my pain too?" Embry asked, holding up his elbow. Paul pushed him. "Mia, Mia, right here," Quil joined in. Paul put up his middle finger. Mia was laughing so hard her stomach started to hurt. "Assholes," Paul was muttering.

"New muffins, fresh off the oven!" Emily shouted. They all went inside. In Mia's opinion, there was just something else with desserts when they were just taken out of the oven. They were even better then.

She lost count of how many she stuffed her face into when she heard a motorbike's engine. "That should be Jake," Embry murmured. "Yeah, but he's not alone," Jared smirked. Mia tried to focus. She was still not as good as the guys with their abilities.

She heard and smelt Jake. They were right, there was another heartbeat. "Where was he anyway?" she asked. "He went to warn the Cullens. About last night," Quil replied after taking a big bite out of another muffin.

"Holy shit, it's Bella!" Jared started chuckling. From the way they were sitting Jared was facing the door. "No shit," Quil smirked. Mia put down the muffin she was eating. It was Bella? What was she even doing in here?

She focused her eyes on the table. Suddenly there was too much running inside her mind again. "Hey, you okay?" Paul asked quietly. She nodded. The guys along with Paul walked out to greet Jake and Bella. "I thought you'd be more excited," Sam said. It was only him, Emily and Mia that were inside.

Mia shrugged. "We haven't talked for a while. She doesn't even know I'm a part of the pack yet, at least, I don't think she does," she replied to him. "I think she was bound to find out, you're all teenagers," Emily smiled.

Mia let out a low chuckle. "Sorry grandma," she said. Emily rolled her eyes and they walked outside too. Mia saw Emily and Sam greet Bella in their own way too. She took a deep breath and finally joined the rest of the pack outside.

"Mia?" Bella gasped. "What are you doing here?" she continued. "Told you I was busy," Jake murmured to her. Mia gave him a look. "I'm not the newbie anymore," Quil said to Bella who looked between disbelief and shock. Mia stepped down from the stairs and stood between Quil and Jared. "Seems like we have a lot to talk about, don't we?"

They started walking and Mia didn't let her talk until she was sure they were out of the ear-shot of the pack. She liked them but she admitted they were overly obsessed with the Bella gossip. "I don't know what to say," Bella stammered.

Mia shrugged. "I know. Why were you avoiding me?" she asked. " Or else, are you really thinking of becoming a vampire? Like them? What about your family? Your mom, Charlie?" Mia continued. Bella looked surprised. "It's--" Mia cut her off. "Or that you completely gave me the middle finger once your boyfriend came back?"

Bella stopped walking. "Okay, wait. Stop," she said. "I couldn't talk to you before. Because I promised I wouldn't tell anyone about any of this. But now that you know... I'm actually relieved. And I can give you an explanation. But first, you. You're a part of the pack now? Since when?"

"A couple of weeks. It first happened after our fight in the parking lot actually," Mia said. "I was angry. So angry. And after what happened with us that day, I guess I just... lost it," she continued. Bella was pressing her lips together. "So, I triggered it?"

She looked guilty. Mia shrugged. "I don't know. They tell me anything can tick us off. If it wasn't you, it could have been anything, apparently," she replied. Bella grabbed her hand and stopped her from walking again.

"I'll, I'll explain but, first, I'm sorry," she said. Before Mia could ask for what Bella hugged her. So she hugged her back. This was the first time they were properly hugging, hell, it was the first time Bella was showing her real affection. And it honestly surprised Mia.

"I have been distant because... well, there are a few things. First, I didn't know what to say to you after the way I acted that night. You didn't deserve that and I shouldn't have said that," Bella said. "But I got scared. Because, because, I really started liking you. And I had lost Edward, and Alice and... and Jake too. And I thought, if you got close to me, I'd lose you too,"

The anger and frustration Mia was feeling a minute ago flown out of the window. "It's just that everyone I cared about was leaving me without any explanation. I think of Alice as my sister. And I lost her. Then you came in. And you were my sister too. And I didn't want to lose another one,"

"So, you didn't mean what you said?" Mia asked. She could feel the tears practically rushing to her eyes. Bella nodded. "You _are_ family. I'm sorry, so sorry," she said. This time, Mia hugged Bella. Her sister.

It would still take some time for Mia to completely get over what Bella said that night but at least things were looking better, brighter. "And as for the distancing... I was trying to protect you," Bella said after their hug and they started walking again.

"Obviously I didn't know you were part of the pack. Victoria, she's after me. And the last time, Charlie was in danger. I just didn't want you being in danger too, for your connection to me. I thought that if I stayed away she wouldn't know, so she couldn't hurt you,"

Mia furrowed her brows. "Wait, what do you mean last time?" she asked. Bella sighed and then started telling Mia about James, a tracker vampire, and what happened. How she was tracked down and how she almost died. She even showed her the scar from where he bit her.

"That's... horrible," Mia let out. Bella nodded and looked away. "Yeah, but he's dead now. He was Victoria's mate. That's why we think she keeps coming," she said. Now Mia really wished she caught the vampire bitch last night.

They kept on talking. Bella filled Mia in about everything that happened. Mia felt happy that Bella now trusted her enough to open up. She was still sad and mad to learn about the things she had to go through.

Mia also told her about her shift and everything that happened to her. To getting to know the pact and learning control and how she had to cut everyone else from her life. For the first time since they met, Mia felt that they were really getting close.

"So what are you doing here, like right now? Don't you have school?" Mia asked her. Bella shrugged. "I'm mad at Edward. For lying to me. And I also really wanted to see Jake. He hasn't been returning my calls,"

Mia rolled her flicked her tongue. "Well, he's pissed at you," she said. "Yeah, I figured," Bella replied. "But dad thinks he's having a rough time and wants me to be there for him. What's really going on?"

"I know the red-head is bothering him. It bothers all of us. But apart from that I think it's you and Edward. We all know he has a crush on you and he hates Edward. So, you know?" Mia said. "He thinks you're gonna become like one of them,"

Bella glanced away. "That's not true, is it?" Mia asked hesitantly. Bella bit down on her lip. "Bella?"she asked again. Bella turned to her. "Not for now," she replied. "Bella!"Mia exclaimed. "Okay, we just made up. Let's not fight again, please," Bella replied.

Mia took a deep breath. "Fine," she breathed out. "But this conversation is not over," she continued. Bella nodded. "Fair," she said. "When are you not busy with the pack? Maybe... you can come over again? I'm sure Charlie will appreciate it,"

"Things are a bit messy at home. But I'll let you know?" Mia asked. She had to spend a few days at home but maybe her mom wouldn't object to her spending time with Bella and Charlie. Bella nodded. "It's a deal," she smiled.

"Should we start heading back? I have a feeling Jake's growing impatient," Mia grinned. Bella chuckled. "Oh, yeah, It's a wolf thing, right?" she asked. "I mean, yeah. But it's different for me," she replied. "I can turn it off? I don't know, it's kind of weird,"

Bella furrowed her brows. "Really? Do you know why?" she asked. Mia shrugged. "Nope. Sam and Billy are looking into the legends to see but nothing yet," she replied. "Well, if it helps, Edward can't read my mind too,"

"Too?" Mia exclaimed. "What do you mean he can read minds?" she asked. "Oh, you didn't know? Edward can read minds. But he can't read mine. We don't know why. And Alice can see the future and Jasper has this thing where he can control emotions," Bella explained.

Mia was shocked to say the least. It took her a moment to get over the shock of that. "Can he read mine?" she asked. Bella shrugged. "He said it was hard, and that he really needed to focus on you to hear something," she said. "Maybe it's a genetic thing?"Mia asked. Bella nodded. "Yeah, could be,"

After that, they walked back to Emily's. Bella and Jake took off together. Jared, Paul, Embry, and Quil were going to Quil's to hang out and Mia tagged along. Bella promised to text Mia when she was leaving so that they could leave together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo the anticipated confrontation with Bella finally happened!! When I first started writing this story I was going to take Bella and Mia's relationship to somewhere else but as I wrote I realized how much I actually love Bella despite her many flaws so I decided to fix her?? and this turned up. I'm pumped to hear what you think!!


	15. Chapter 15

Bella and Jake picked Mia up from Quil's and they drove back to Forks. Since she came on Jake's bike he was driving them back. Jake pulled in front of the house in the road. Mia could feel the tension between Bella and Jake.

"Okay, I'm gonna text my mom real quick," she said and walked a bit away from them to give them the space. She tried not to focus too hard on their conversation. After a hug that Mia would describe as awkward or weird, Jake got back on his bike and Bella walked to the door.

Mia heard Charlie greeting Bella at the door. "You know, Edward could at least respect meal times," Charlie said. He sounded annoyed. "I was just with Jake," Bella replied. "Oh," Charlie murmured. Mia opened the door.

Bella pointed to Mia. "And Mia. We spent the day together," she continued. Charlie looked surprised but there was a little smile on his lips. "That's good," he said. "I ate already but... you two hungry?"

Mia shared a look with her sister. She could go for food right now. They both nodded. "Okay, let me fix something," Charlie said. The girls followed him. Mia stopped Bella in the hallway. "Wait. I'm smelling something,"

Bella chuckled. "Yeah, the food?" she asked. Mia shook her head. "No, no. I smell... one of them," she said quietly to avoid Charlie from hearing it. "Oh. It's probably Edward," Bella blushed. Mia wasn't convinced but she didn't push it.

"So you two made up?" Charlie asked. "Yeah," Bella answered. "Good, good," Charlie replied. Then the door started to bang. "That's him, I'm guessing?" Charlie muttered. Bella looked at him then at Mia. "I'll answer it,"

Mia took a deep breath. She could now smell Edward. It was the same scent from the last time she was here. But the other smell, it was different. Like sure, all vampires had the same scent but it was just different.

She heard Edward coming in. "I'm just going to use the bathroom," she said to her dad and went up. To where Edward and Bella were. He was saying that someone had been inside. "I told you I smelled something," she said and crossed her arms.

Edward looked at her and Mia shifted her weight. She never realized it before but his eyes were yellow. And it was weird. And he was looking directly at her. He furrowed his brows for a second. "I'm going to call Em and Jasper," he said.

Bella walked toward Mia. "Hey, you'll be alright?" Mia asked her. She nodded. "Yeah, why?" she replied. "I've gotta go," Mia said in a low tone. She didn't know why they weren't speaking in a normal tone, Edward could hear them no matter what.

"Oh," Bella nodded, glancing at her boyfriend. "What about dinner?" she murmured. Mia shrugged. "Another time?" The treaty was clear. Forks was a neutral area, sure, but there was also a silent-agreement on not to cross each other's roads. Now, Mia lived in Forks, and they went to the same school, so it was a bit tricky but they or at least Mia could try her best.

"See you tomorrow at school?" Bella asked. Mia nodded in response. "Let me know if something's wrong,"she said to her sister and went downstairs. She apologized to her dad and said that she had to go home. Charlie wasn't too happy about that but he didn't make a big fuss about it.

Mia took a deep breath before entering her house. Her mom was probably going to throw a fit. Liz was in the living room, watching the TV. She turned it off as Mia stepped inside. "Amelia, sit down," she said calmly.

Oh, this was going to be bad.

Mia nodded and did as told. Liz took off her glasses, she only used them if she was reading a book or watching TV, and put them on the couch next to her. "Are you on drugs?" she asked. Mia's eyed widened.

"What?" she gasped. Liz sighed. "You've... changed. In the past weeks. I don't know if this is some phase or teenage rebellion because of everything that happened recently... You're different. You stopped hanging out with your old friends, I hear you've been cutting school, left all of your school clubs-- which isn't like you at all. You sneak off at night, don't think I haven't noticed. Sometimes you're gone for a whole day. You, you got a tattoo! Just, tell me the truth. We can get you help,"

Mia didn't know what to say. "Mom... I'm not on drugs. Trust me," she said. "Then what the hell is going on?" Liz raised her voice. Mia gulped. At that moment, she wanted to tell her mom. About everything. But the second she opened her mouth to spill, the words wouldn't come out.

Damn obeying the alpha's rules. She had to lie to her mom even though she didn't want to. "Amelia, I am waiting for an explanation," Liz sighed. "Is it because of me? Because I lied about Charlie? Are you trying to... to punish me by behaving this way?"

Mia pressed her lips together and looked down. She could feel the tears rushing to her eyes. She wanted to tell her mom the truth, so badly. "No, mom, no. How can you think like that? I swear, I'm not,"

"I don't want to talk about it," she continued. Liz furrowed her brows. "Do you really think you have that option? I'm sorry but you're going to tell me what's really going on," she said firmly. Mia glanced away from her mother, she couldn't tell. And there was no lie on earth she could come up with that would get her out of this situation, if she wanted to lie.

She didn't reply. Liz waited. Mia didn't speak up. Liz took a deep breath. "Alright, if you want it this way then I guess I have no choice. You're grounded until further notice. The only time you can leave this   
house is for school and I will personally drive you every morning. And I'll want visual evidence you're at home after school hourly,"

Mia's mouth fell open. "No! Mom! You can't do this," she said. Liz shrugged. "You're leaving me no choice Amelia," she said. Mia tried to calm her breathing and heart beats. She needed to get it under control.

"Fine," she managed to let out and stomped to her room. This was bad, very very bad. She was seventeen for god's sake and the last time she was grounded was because she pushed someone else at middle school. She hadn't been grounded for years.

On top of that, since there was no way she could let her mom the truth, Liz wouldn't lift her punishment. She was grounded. She couldn't go to the pack, she couldn't see the only friends she was allowed to see, and... she wouldn't be able to see Paul.

Mia tried to calm down but she couldn't. Everything was falling apart. She hated not being able to tell the truth, to her mom, to her dad, to Cait and Olivia, she hated all of the rules she had to follow and she hated the danger they were apparently in.

Mia took out her phone and called Sam. She called him three times but he didn't answer. Then she called Jake. He picked up on the second ring. "Couldn't get enough of me?" he asked. Mia rolled her eyes.

"I'm in trouble," she said. "Okay? You alright? What happened?" he replied. Mia sighed and focused on the sound inside of the house. She heard her mom get up and walk to her door. "I can't reach Sam. Can you or him come over or something? But discreetly?" she said into the phone quietly. Her mom might not have the wolf superhearing but she had the mom superhearing.

Mia heard some shuffling over the phone. "Okay but first tell me if you're okay. Is it the leeches?" he asked. "No," Mia replied. Of course Jake's mind would go to the vampires immediately. "Okay, I'm waiting, Hurry,"

She waited for about forty minutes. She was panting, walking in circles in her room. Then she heard a car parking outside of her house. She supposed it was Jake. She quickly texted him to go around the house and come to her window.

She opened the window and stuck her upper body out of it. She heard two different footsteps. They turned the corner and she saw that it was Jake and Sam. Thank god. "Alright we're here," Jake announced. Mia shushed her.

"Quiet!" she whisper shouted at him. He shrugged. "Mom grounded me," Mia started and turned to Sam, "Like I suspected, she got suspicious. She thinks I'm on drugs for god's sake! She will be driving me to school and back,"

Jake started chuckling. "Fuck you," she whispered to him. Sam looked at Jake with a fed up look. Considering he was essentially babysitting teenagers for months, that was normal to expect from him.

"That's not good," he said. Mia nodded. "She says she's not going to back out if I tell her what's going on... Any advice?" she asked. Sam sighed. "How about you've... joined a circus?" Jake asked. Mia glared at him. "Yeah and I could tell her I'm a juggler too," she rolled her eyes.

"What? I'm trying to lighten the mood," he replied. Mia sighed. "Stay calm," Sam said to both of them. "I'll talk to Billy. You stick with her rules for now, we don't want the situation getting any worse than it is. Control yourself in the time being,"

Mia nodded. Did she even have any other options than that anyway? "What can dad do anyway?" Jake murmured. Mia bit the inside of her cheeks and looked Sam. "Yeah... I mean, can't we just tell her the truth? Please?"

Sam didn't reply. "I know she's not a tribe elder but... she's part of the tribe too. I mean, would it be so bad? She can keep a secret, we surely know that," Mia continued. Jake nodded. "Sam?" he asked. "I'll talk to Billy," he ended up saying. Mia and Jake shared a look. "Okay then," Mia replied.

After that Jake and Sam left and Mia was left alone. She still couldn't believe this, any of this. She jumped to her bed with a huff. She grabbed her phone and started scrolling through Insagram. She opened Caitlyn's story, which was of her and Olivia. Her already bad mood got even worse.

She missed her friends, so much. But she had to stay away from them, to protect them. There was no telling when she could lose it and hurting her friends was the last thing she wanted. As she was about to put her phone away, a text from Bella showed up.

Bella was asking if she wanted to go to school together tomorrow. Mia sighed and typed a reply. Maybe her mom would allow her to go with Bella. She would promise to send pictures from school, even though even the thought of assuring her mom like that was bizarre for her. Liz never asked for this kind of thing before. Frustrated, she plugged her phone to charge and turned off the lights. She got under the covers and tried to go to sleep. 

The next morning, it took some convincing but Liz let Mia go to school with Bella. But she had two conditions. Mia had to send a picture from every class and she had to give her Bella's number too so she could confirm it with her. Mia obliged, it wasn't like she had any other choice.

Truthfully, she didn't want to ride to school with her mom. Also, she wanted to talk to Bella as well. She wanted the latest information about last night. About the other smell. Mia and Liz were in the kitchen, having a silent breakfast.

Since she was grounded she didn't patrol the night before and instead slept for the whole night. She was feeling more refreshed to be honest. It still sucked to be grounded though. Mia leaped out of her thoughts with the car horn.

"That isn't Bella's car," Liz muttered. Mia looked outside. It really wasn't. It was a Volvo and there were two people inside. "Uh, yeah. That's Edward, her boyfriend," she said. "Is that so?"Liz pouted, she didn't seem happy about that.

Mia got up with a sigh and grabbed her bag. "Just so you know, he's a stickler for rules so you can be sure we'll be at the school," she said and walked out. She tried to calm her breathing as she walked to the car.

Why did Edward had to be there? It was hard enough just being at the same school, now they had to drive together too? She knew it was probably going to be as miserable for him too but still.

She got in. "Good morning," she said. They could be enemies but she still had her manners. "Morning," both Edward and Bella said at the same time. "Why is your mom looking that furious?"Bella asked.

Mia sighed and leaned back on the chair. "I'm grounded," she replied. "What?"Bella asked, turning back to see her face. Mia told her sister about what happened the night before. "Well, shit," Bella said at the end.

Mia upped her eyebrows and nodded in response. "I know," she groaned. She crossed her arms on her chest and looked at Bella. She was trying not to stare at Edward but sometimes her eyes drifted that way. "So, how about you then? What was last night about?"

Bella took a deep breath. "That's... what we needed to talk to you about, actually," she started and Mia sat up straight. "Okay...?" she murmured. Bella looked at Edward. "There was an... intruder, at Bella's house last night," Edward said.

"Another vampire?" Mia asked. Edward nodded. "We don't know who he is. Emmett and Jasper tried to track him but he hid his tracks after a few miles," he said. Which meant it wasn't the red-head. But how did a vampire managed to get in there without either the pack or the Cullens noticing?

"What can I do about it?" she asked. Edward looked at her from the mirror. He was holding the steering wheel too tightly. "They're tracking Victoria. And protecting me and Charlie. Also something else too," Bella said.

Mia pressed her lips and nodded. She still didn't get her answer. "We... think that... extra protection for Bella and Charlie would be appropriate, if something was to happen," Edward gritted through his teeth. It was obvious he didn't like the idea.

"You mean the pack?" Mia asked. Bella nodded. "Okay, I'll talk to Sam," she replied. Bella smiled. "Good, we get to spend more time," she said. Mia smiled at that. The car got inside the school parking lot.

Mia spotted Caitlyn's car. "Wait," she said after Edward parked the car. "Can I ask a favor too?" she asked hesitantly. Bella nodded. Mia quickly gave them a summary of the situation with her friends.

"I don't want to lie to them. So, I was thinking... that, you know... how you guys, uhm, kinda... eh, stay away from people? And people don't come near you?" she was rambling. Now she understood why Edward was having a hard time a few moments ago, it was hard to ask for help from your 'mortal' enemies.

Edward was listening. "Yeah?" Bella murmured. "Cmon, are you really going to make me say it?" Mia sighed. Bella chuckled. "So you want people-repellent powers of us?" she asked. Mia let out a forced smile. "Yes?"

"I'll talk to Jasper," Edward said. Mia furrowed her brows. "For what?" she asked. "I'm assuming Bella told you that... some of us have abilities?" Edward asked. Mia nodded. "Well, he can influence emotions. He could influence theirs if they try to approach you, to not do that,"

"Oh," Mia murmured, "Okay. Thanks," she continued. Edward nodded and they got out of the car. They walked to the entrance in silence, together. "Lunch?" Bella asked. Mia nodded and headed for her first class. She took out her phone and sent her mom a picture as she promised. She was furious she had to do this but she had lost her mom's trust so she had to deal with it.

It was like hell until lunch. Mia shared two classes with Caitlyn and Olivia and she couldn't even look their way. She felt way too guilty for that. She had missed her friends like crazy, she couldn't even put it into words.

Bella and Edward were standing outside of Mia's last lesson before lunch. "Can we quickly stop by the bathroom first?" Bella asked. Both Mia and Edward nodded. The two stood awkwardly at the door while Bella went inside.

Mia was trying her best not to stare at him but it was weird. "Do I make you uncomfortable?" Edward asked. Mia furrowed her brows. "I thought you couldn't read me," she replied. Edward smiled. "I can't. But I can hear your heartbeat,"

"Oh," she murmured, "it's just... you know, I know the truth know," she continued. Edward nodded. "Yeah, I hate what I am too," he said. "I don't... hate you guys. I mean, I kind of hate you for what you put Bella through but... you know,"

Edward blinked. "I thought your kind automatically did," he said bluntly. Mia let out a chuckle. "Yeah, well, let's call it a work in progress?" she asked, "We're basically on the same side now, aren't we?"

And it wasn't just because they both hated Victoria and wanted to kill her, they both cared about Bella too and wanted her to be protected. "I suppose," Edward murmured. Mia sighed. "I know we aren't going to be besties but perhaps... we could more than tolerate each other?" Edward smiled. "Of course,"

It was obvious that from point on Mia had to spend time around at least one vampire. It would be better if they actually kind of got along instead of being 'enemies'. The pack thought all vampires were bad but the Cullens haven't personally done against Mia and that was enough to be friendly for now.

After Bella got out they headed for cafeteria. Edward waited in the line with them, even got some pasta and fries too. They headed for the usual Cullen table. Mia trailed after them with a gulp. She had no idea what she was walking into.

Mia sat down next to Bella quietly. The others in the table didn't seem too surprised about her being there. Rosalie and Emmett were on her other side. Edward was sitting next to Bella. Jasper and Alice were next to him. She was literally in the middle of vampires. The pack would probably lose their shit.

"I'm thinking of adding veggie rolls and puffs to the menu," Alice said excitedly. "Why?"Bella asked. "For the vegetarians and vegans, of course! We wouldn't want them to not eat!" Mia furrowed her brows.

What was Alice talking about? "Sure, sounds like a good idea," Bella murmured. "Mia," Alice smiled, "What do you think?" she asked. Mia's head shot up. "About what?" she stammered. "About adding vegan options to the party food! The graduation party?"

Mia shrugged. "Yeah, it's a good idea," she replied. "I am throwing a graduation party. I know you're a junior but you should come!" Alice said. "I'll see... I am currently grounded,"

Emmett grinned while Alice pouted. " A grounded wolf... fun," he said. Mia rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm still a teenager," she said. Emmett didn't seem fazed by her comment, he was still grinning. Out of all them, perhaps he was the most intimidating. Even with Mia's new physique he still towered over her.

Jasper was watching them and Rosalie was flipping through a magazine. Mia saw that it was a mechanic magazine as it had pictures of cars and engines. Jasper's eyes were fixated on her and she looked down at her plate, uncomfortably, and took another bite.

It wasn't the fact that he looked at her that creeped her out, but their eyes. Now that she had better eye sight and was physically close to them she could see the yellowness of theirs. It was weird as fuck. If she saw them at a Haloween party or something she probably would give it a single thought but since she knew the truth behind it... it was weird.

Then she felt her anxiety sawying away. It was slow but the pressure on her gut started to get smaller. When she looked up she saw Jasper was still looking at her, now with less of a direct stare. Oh yeah! It hit Mia after a second, he could feel and influence her emotions.She continued to eat her lunch in silence and only spoke when either Bella or Alice asked her a question. 

At the end of the day, Mia decided, and it sent a shockwave through her system, maybe the Cullens weren't as bad as the pack made them out to be. Sure, they were vampires and drank blood and probably (?) killed people before, but they weren't so bad. Currently.

Mia didn't know if it was because she agreed to help them about Bella or something else, but they were nice toward her. Even Rosalie, which was a shocker because Bella told Mia about her attidute before.

She probably wouldn't become besties with them but she didn't loathe being around them. Except for those eyes, it still freaked her out. And it wasn't like she wanted to spend every moment with them, but at the times she had to, she wasn't going to dread it, at least.

Edward and Bella drove her home. Which was nice of them. "I'll talk to Sam as soon as I can," she said before getting out of the car. Edward nodded. "Okay," Bella said. Mia spared her sister a smile and got out. She walked to the door, her bag hanging from her shoulder.

"Mom, I'm home!" she yelled and closed the door. She had seen her car outside. Normally Liz wouldn't be at the house at this hour but her car was here, so, Mia didn't indulge. She probably left work early today to make sure Mia kept her word.

However, there was no reply. Mia left her bag, more like threw it to the couch in the living room, and headed for the kitchen. She heard three heartbeats. She walked into the kitchen and saw Billy and Sam at the kitchen table next to her mom.

Liz's elbows were on the kitchen and she had buried her face in her hands. Mia looked at Billy and Sam. They both had blank faces. Sam gave her a little nod. Mia instantly knew what had happened. "Mom?" she said.

Liz's head shot up. "Oh, honey," she let out and got up to hug her. Mia hugged her back. After the hug Liz sat back down and Mia stood in the middle of their kitchen in an awkward position. "This is crazy," Liz murmured.

Billy grabbed Liz's hand. "I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth Lizzy. And Mia has a responsibility," he said. "But she shouldn't have to! She's seventeen Billy! Your kid's seventeen too. And you're telling me they are chasing after... vampires?"

"And you! You're not that old yourself!" Liz continued, looking at Sam. Mia never actually thought about it thoroughly before. Sam didn't look like that old. Sure he was older than them and he seemed to be doing this for a long time, but he wasn't even a proper adult himself.

"You're basically children! You expect me to let my daughter risk her life?" Liz asked. Billy sighed. "They're warriors of out tribe. They can more than protect themselves," he said. Liz looked furious. "I didn't raise my daughter for this!"

Mia took a deep breath. "Mom, it's okay," she let out. Liz turned to her. "You're okay with this?" she asked her. Mia nodded. "Mom, we can talk about this more throughly later on, but I'm fine so far, and I'm not alone,"

Liz pressed her lips together. She still seemed furious but she nodded. "Okay... Am I still grounded then?" she asked. Liz looked at her in disbelief. "If I'm not mistaken, you told her you'd lift it when you learned the truth Lizzy," Billy said. Liz turned her disbelieved look on her friend. "Fine," she breathed out. "You're free again... to kill vampires apparently,"

With a smile and relief Mia turned to Sam. "In that case, I really need to talk to you," she said to him. Sam nodded and got up. "You guys go on ahead, I'll stay a bit more," Billy said. Mia changed her clothes as fast as she could then she left with Sam.

They went to Emily's with Sam's truck. Mia never actually thought she'd be happy to see it. After she got out and took a few steps, she suddenly got levitated into the air. "FUGITIVE! FUGITIVE! WE CAUGHT IT!" Quil yelled. "CALL THE POLICE, THE FBI, THE SWAT TEAM, WE GOT HER!" Embry went after him.

"It?" Mia screamed. " I'm a person you idiots!" she continued but they were only laughing. "Fuck you guys," she chuckled as they put her down. "Heard you got grounded," Quil grinned. Mia rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and I've run away,"

Mia only told Sam that the Cullens talked to her and that she was going to tell the rest with the rest of the pack there. They decided to wait until everyone came. Embry said Emily just cooked some chicken so they went inside to eat it.

After an hour and some delicious chicken wings the whole pack arrived. Then Mia told them everything Edward said. "So you know the scent of this other vamp?" Sam asked. He had his stern alpha look on. Mia nodded. "You could find it if you came across it?"

"I guess, yeah," Mia replied. "Okay, well, you can give us your memories of you smelling it so we'll be on the look for it," Sam said. Mia nodded. "Do you think it could come back?" Jared asked.

"I hope not," Mia replied. "It was inside the house. My dad was in there, who knows what'll happen if it does come back?" she muttered. "Protecting humans is in the treaty. That applies to Charlie Swan and her daughter," Sam said.

Leah crossed her arms over her chest. "So a protection detail?" she asked "With the leeches?" she spat. "We have to," Sam replied. "At least one of us wouldn't object to it," Quil murmured and glanced at Jake. Jake flipped his middle finger at his friend. "The bloodsuckers can't do it on their own?" Embry asked.

"Bella says they are also tracking the red-head. And something else too, she didn't exactly specify," Mia answered his question. "Well, that's rich," Paul commented. Mia chewed on her lip. "I mean, of course I'm all for protecting Bella and Charlie but do we have to do it alongside those suckers?" Jake huffed. "I don't like it any more than you do but they are human and we protect them," Sam spoke up with a stern tone. And that was final. It was decided that they would do it.

Everyone started to grip away, Leah being the first, so Mia jogged after her. "Leah, wait!" she called out. Leah stopped and turned to her. She seemed annoyed. Mia knew it was most probably because of Sam opposing to her inside when they were having the discussion. "Can we talk, in private, please?" Mia asked her.

Leah took a deep breath. "Sure," she said. They walked away from the house. "This might come off as weird, but, uhm, I'm just going to ask it, because, well, you're the only person who could answer," she rambled, it wasn't like she could ask Sam about that.

"Okay," Leah murmured. Mia took a deep breath. "I got my period today," Mia said. Leah furrowed her brows. "Congratulations...?" she said. Mia rolled her eyes. "No, I mean, yeah, I got it but I was wondering... this is the first time I've got it since shifting. What does it mean, for us?"

"Oh," Leah said, "Yeah, I get it," she sighed. "Don't worry. It magically... disappears when we're in wolf form. So you do not bleed out to the ground. I don't exactly know the science behind it but wolves don't menstruate like we do, they don't have periods. So when we shift, it goes away. But when you're human, it happens and comes back,"

Mia bit down on her bottom lip. "So, what happens to the tampon if I have to shift?" she asked. Leah chuckled. "Trust me, you don't want to know," Mia's eyes widened at the possibilities. "Okay," she stammered "Well, thanks,"

After her talk with Leah, Mia texted Bella to let her know that her punishment was now lifted, her mom knew about the pack and that the pack agreed to work together with the Cullens for the time being.

Bella was happy to hear about it and she even offered for Mia to stay over during the times the pack would take over. She said it would give them the opportunity to spend more time together and it wouldn't be weird, that she could tell people that they wanted to spend time together before Bella left for college. It was a good cover. Mia agreed to it, she was honestly touched by how much Bella was willing to go to be with her. It warmed something inside of her.

Mia spent an hour or so at Emily's with the rest of the pack, mostly bantering with Quil and Jared until they had to go patrolling. She and Paul talked for a while when Jake was chasing Quil for making fun of him. He told her that he missed her around, even though it had only been a day, at least that's what Mia gathered from his words.

She had solved her problem with her mom but she really needed to solve the problem of her heart doing triple backflips and her forgetting to speak like a normal person whenever he got close to her. Especially the blushing and the uncontrollable smile she had when he insinuated that he missed her.

She was walking down a very dangerous road but she also couldn't stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so my grades from this semester were announced today and I got a 3.8/4.00 GPA so I'm very happy and decided to update early!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is gonna be wild and it is the longest chapter I've written for the story so far! :)

Mia had temporarily moved into her dad's house. Their cover story for Charlie had worked and he was touched that Mia wanted to spend more time with them. Mia wanted that as well, on top of protecting her sister and dad.

Liz had resisted the idea at first, especially since Mia hadn't had a chance to talk things through with her properly about the whole pack business, but in the end, she let Mia go. Mia had to agree to call her whenever she could and also lie to her, and she hated it every second of it, but she told her mom all of this would be over soon. She hoped it would.

On the nights where the Cullens were on Swan duty, Mia would sneak out after her dad fell asleep and went to join the patrol. The other nights she would be at the house with her family. On the nights where she didn't have to patrol and it was the Cullen's turn, she tried to find excuses to go but Bella urged her to stay.

Edward was inside the house at those times, it had only happened twice so far, the second time being right now. Mia could tell Bella wanted them to get along. She wasn't sure if she and Edward or anyone from that family could get along well like Bella wanted them to but at least they weren't as hostile toward Mia as they were to the rest of the pack. Which was at least promising.

On the days Mia went to school, and she did most days for the past two weeks to protect Bella, Sam allowed it, she had to be around the Cullens anyway. It wasn't as horrible as Mia thought given the stories the pack told her.

Charlie was working late tonight and he wasn't home yet. Edward, Bella, and Mia were in the living room and the TV was on. Mia didn't think they were watching it but it was better than the awkward silence that took over the room from moment to moment.

All this domestication so far had actually helped Mia caught up with her schoolwork. Not that she was sure what was left of it anyway, the pack came first now. She knew her dreams of college especially and Ivy Leauge were just that, distant dreams.

"Do you still struggle with Bio?" Bella asked from over Mia's shoulder. She had gone to the kitchen to get water and was now towering over the couch. "As always," Mia groaned. Bella laid her elbows on the edge of the couch. "Edward's pretty good with Bio,"

Mia couldn't help but glance at Edward. He was trying to look like he wasn't prying on their conversation but they all knew he was aware. "He's good with all of them, in fact," she continued. Edward turned to them with a mused face.

"Benefits of countless hours spent in high school," he murmured. Mia let out an awkward chuckle. "Are you serious?" she muttered. Bella sat next to Mia on the couch with a grin. "You need help and he has the knowledge, why not?"

Mia looked between her sister and the boyfriend for a while. They did not seem like they were joking. "Well, fine then," she exhaled and handed her book to Bella which then handed it to her boyfriend. Edward took the book without question and immediately got to work.

If somebody told Mia three months ago that her sister's vampire boyfriend would be doing her biology homework as they were protecting her sister from bad vampires, Mia would probably think they were on drugs or had great imagination.

"What do you want to do for the rest of the evening?" Bella asked her. "I don't know," Mia murmured, she had planned to spend it with the homework but it was being handled. "Do you have any ideas?" she asked her.

Bella pressed her lips together as she thought about it. "What do people usually do on sleep overs?" she asked. Mia furrowed her brows. "Seriously?" she asked her sister. Bella nodded. "Well, let me see," Mia sighed, "If it was me... and my friends, well, we would probably be watching something or gossiping. Manicures would probably be involved,"

"Oh, I thought that stuff was just in the movies," Bella said. Mia shrugged. "Yeah but it's generally what happens," she said. And she realized she couldn't remember the last time she properly hung out with her friends like she had just described. "Wouldn't be in every teen movie if something similar didn't happen in reality,"

Bella tucked her hair behind her ears. "Okay, what else?" she asked. "I don't know, a game, maybe? Does dad have games?" Mia replied. "I'll check," Bella murmured and got up. Edward placed her book on the table. "Done,"

"Holy shit, how?" Mia exclaimed. It had taken him a few minutes whereas it would have taken her all night, probably. There was a faint smile on his lips. "Not my first time answering the same questions,"

Mia wondered actually how many times he had to answer the same questions. Sure she liked high school so far but doing it over and over again? That seemed like a nightmare. She also realized she didn't actually know how many times he had to go to high school but she decided not to think much on it as it was not even pleasant to think about.

He then looked at Mia. "You miss your friends," he said, it wasn't a question, more like a statement. "Yeah, did you hear that in my thoughts?" Mia asked looking down at her hands in her lap, she wasn't trying to be mean. But she wasn't very fond of the idea of someone inside her mind, she didn't like it with the pack and she didn't like it with Edward.

"No," he said. Mia looked up at him with a surprised face. His eyes were almost black. "I thought that was your whole thing," she said. "Doesn't mean I like it," Edward replied. "I can't read Bella. Charlie is a tad difficult but can be done. You, however, I need to work, extremely hard,"

"My mind hasn't been silent since I was turned. Being around the two of you is the first time where it is only my voice, and that I have even a moment of peace, I don't take the opportunity lightly," he continued. Mia chewed on her bottom lip. Even she was having trouble with the pack and hearing their thoughts when she allowed it. And she didn't allow it very frequently but she couldn't even think or imagine how exhausting it could be constantly for years.

"Why do you think that is? That you can't?" Mia asked him. "I have no idea," Edward replied. "But I'm assuming there was something with your paternal bloodline. Since you and Charlie are alike and I'm having difficulty," he continued.

So Mia's maternal bloodline came from spirit warriors of the tribe and her paternal one... anti-vampire-powers? She exhaled in frustration, there were too many unexplainable things that had been happening and she didn't know whether or not she missed the days where she wasn't aware of any of them.

Bella came back holding a deck of cards. "Apparently one other thing I brought from Phoneix is my Uno cards," she was grinning. Gosh, it had been too long since Mia did something as simple as playing Uno.

"I love Uno," Mia said. "What is Uno?" Edward asked. Both Mia and Bella turned to him in shock. "You've never played Uno?" Bella asked her boyfriend. Edward opened his hands in defeat. "The family doesn't let me play any games with them because they consider me always cheating,"

"Oh, yeah, I can see how that is a problem," Mia muttered. It was no fun playing or even strategizing if your opponent knew every move you were going to make before you even made them. "Well, I guess it's a good thing that you can't cheat with us then," Bella grinned.

Bella and Mia gave Edward a quick summary of the rules and the gameplay. He seemed to get it quickly and Bella started dealing. "Expect no mercy," she smirked right before starting. 

The next day was a wolf day. Edward drove Bella and Mia to the line of the territory where they met with Jake. Mia acted like she didn't hear Edward's comment on Jake not wearing a shirt. She got out of the car and walked to Jake.

They bumped fists. "I know you missed me," he said. Mia rolled her eyes and smiled as she hit his shoulder. She saw Bella heading their way. "I'll be in the car," she murmured and sat on the back seat. She distinctly watched Jake over hugging Bella with Edward glaring at them. She turned her head.

"We can do whatever you want but tonight we're going to a party," Jake said after getting inside the car. "What party?" both girls asked at the same time. Jake glanced at Mia from the mirror. "The bonfire? Remember rookie,"

Oh, yes, the bonfire the guys mentioned at the last patrol. "That was today?" Mia murmured, not as a real question but as the reminder. Days went by fast. "Who will be at the bonfire?" Bella asked.

"You'll see," Jake replied. Bella rolled her eyes. "Cmon, tell me," she pleaded. Jake chuckled. "Fine, fine. The pack, obviously. Dad and the rest of the tribe elders," he said. He then looked at Mia again. "Which reminds me, the guys are at Jared's. The bonfire will take place at the Clearwater's and it's the closest home. Do you guys want to drop by?"

The thought of seeing the rest of the pack, and Paul, excited Mia. "Sounds good," she was fast to reply. Jake chuckled again. "Awwww, you missed your boyfriend," he said. Bella turned to Mia in shock while she blushed. "I don't have a boyfriend!" Mia exclaimed the same time Bella said "You have a boyfriend?"

"You're a stupid idiot," Mia exhaled. "He's not my boyfriend, we're friends," she continued. "You got pretty defensive real quick," Jake grinned. "It's true, you did," Bella smirked. Mia took a deep breath. "Because you guys always tease it!"

She leaned on the back seat and crossed her arms. She was annoyed. She could take the teasing from time to time but it had been getting a lot more frequent and it didn't help Mia resolve the issue of Paul at all. If anything, it made it worse.

Mia wasn't proud of it, or maybe she was, but that wasn't the last time she had a dream about Paul. And it wasn't only in her dreams, she would find herself drift off during the day about... various activities with him.

Oh hell, she was getting flushed again. "Okay, okay, don't pout," Jake called out. Mia looked at her friend. Suddenly she got an idea, if Jake was messing with him, she could mess back. She had been in situations like this before.

Mia knew that if Caitlyn and Olivia were here, beside her, right now, they would say that Mia had her brewing face on, which meant something good for them and bad for whoever was getting the other end of the stick.

"I'm already so tired from last night, you guys were too loud for me," Mia said. Jake turned the wheel. "Sorry," Bella blushed. In reality, after Mia decided to go to sleep Bella and Edward had listened to music together while continuing Uno. Nothing sinister, but Jake didn't need to know that.

Bella gave Mia a knowing look. "We'll try to keep it silent next time," she smirked. Mia smiled at her sister. Jake squeezed the wheel even tighter. Mia flicked Jake's arm, "Best not to annoy me when I'm sleepy Jakey,"

"Mia, I'm glad you brought it up. I actually had some questions to ask you about that--," Bella started but Jake shushed her. "Okay, okay. I won't say another word about it. Please stop," he said, waving his right hand like crazy. The girls shared a look and laughed.

The rest of the drive went less annoying for Mia. She was amazed at how quick Bella was to understand her ploy. Sometimes not even Caitlyn and Olivia, her best friends in the entire world, didn't get her plans that quick. Well, that wasn't a very layered plan but still, it was spontaneous. It made her happy to know that Bella was in her corner.

Jake was the first to enter Jared's house. Bella was next then Mia. She saw Jared, Paul, Quil, and Embry with controllers in their hands and shouting at the TV. "No, no, no, no," Quil was shouting. Jared was pouting. Paul looked pissed. "HA! SUCKERS!" Embry started jumping.

Mia sat on the empty singular couch. Embry got up with a smile. "You guys wanna tap in? I'm tired of winning," he grinned. "Bella?" he asked. She shrugged. "I don't think I'd be very good at it,"

Embry chuckled. "So are these guys," he handed the controller to her. She sat down at his place. "I'm out too," Paul said and gave his controller to Jake. "There's some soda and chips in the fridge if you guys want it," Jared murmured as his eyes were fixated on the screen.

Mia eyed the table where there were already some bottles of soda and chips. "I'm good," she said. Embry reached over and grabbed an open pack of chips. The rest were too focused on the game, on the edge of the couch. Mia was watching her sister trying to figure the game out with a clueless look on her face.

"You guys should have told her how to play maybe?" Mia murmured. "Press X and go left!" Quil said. More like shouted in the heat of the moment. Mia felt someone sitting beside her on the edge of the couch.

She didn't need to look to know it was Paul. He was holding a bottle of soda. He was half leaning on the couch. "Hey," he said. "Hi," she smiled and then turned back to the screen. She might have gotten Jake to stop but it would probably be impossible to keep the other guys at bay. And she also told Paul that they were friends and friends didn't avoid each other like she was likely to do every time she got flushed about him.

"Is there something other than chips?" Mia asked. She was getting hungry, blame the wolf appetite, but she wasn't in the mood for chips. "There are some brownies my mom cooked yesterday," Jared answered.

Mia got up and headed for the kitchen. She found the brownies on the counter but she had to go looking for the plates. And being in someone else's kitchen, well, she couldn't exactly say. "What are you looking for?" Embry asked, coming inside and heading for the fridge.

He got another soda. "The plates," she murmured. "Oh, third cabinet, and forks are at the fourth drawer from the top," he said as he took a sip. "Thanks," Mia said and did as he said. "We were beginning to think you weren't going to come back," he joked.

She turned to him. "What?" she chuckled. "You didn't hear this from me but someone has been very moody," he smirked. Mia sighed, oh god, here it was coming. "Yeah, your whiny ass?" she said as she put the brownie on the plate. "Nice try," Embry chuckled.

But as they got back to where the others were and she sat back, next to Paul, Embry's words were inside her mind. 'Someone's been moody' was that Paul? And was he being moody as they put it because of her not being around?

She was probably reading too much into it.

It was the kind of teasing they did all the time. Apart from the attraction Mia felt toward Paul, she truly did see him as a friend. She saw all of the pack as friends, as Billy and the others kept saying that the tribe was family but it wasn't her fault that she got closer to some of them more. Like Jake, they were friends and no one teased the two of them. But that was probably because of his undying crush on Bella. Mia didn't think Paul saw her more than a friend. He was obviously feeling the same as he felt the need to reassure that they were in fact friends. But Mia couldn't help but wonder if he was starting to get annoyed at his friends for the teasing?

"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! NO!" Quil shouted and got up. He threw the controller to the couch. "I don't fucking believe this," Jared muttered and leaned back on the couch. "You're a natural Bella," Embry high-fived her.

Bella won? Mia didn't see that coming. "Beginner's luck," Jake cut in. Bella chuckled. "Either way you're the loser," she retaliated. "Seems like you guys are going to need more practice," Embry grinned before shoving a bunch of chips into his mouth.

"I see what you mean about getting bored with winning all the time," Bella said to Embry. He chuckled in response. "You only won ONCE!" Quil said. Even Mia laughed at that. "You guys are sore losers," Paul snickered.

Quil flipped his middle finger while Jared tackled Paul. Mia chuckled as she practically jumped to the couch where Bella and Quil were sitting to avoid the hit. They stopped only after they heard a crash.

"My brownie!" Mia exclaimed. She couldn't get the plate before and it was on the edge of the coffee table, which Paul and Jared knocked over during their tackle. "Oh shit, mom's going to kill me," Jared said. Luckily that caused them to stop.

Mia kneeled and started to collect the broken pieces. "Get me a bag and a towel," she said. Jared and Paul were staring at her. "NOW?" she said which got Jared to move. Paul kneeled next to her to help.

"Don't," she said. "You might hurt yourself," she continued. He smirked. "I'm not that fragile," he said. Mia rolled her eyes. "Yeah but if you keep trying to grab them like they're chips you're going to cut yourself,"

Jared came back with a bag and Mia put the pieces and the brownie inside of it. She wiped the floor to get the small pieces of the plate and the brownie. After that, she got up. "Well, no one steps here until someone vacuums it,"

Paul pointed at Jared. "You vacuum it, you broke it," he said. "It's my house, my rules goes," Jared replied. "I'm a guest!" Paul fought back. "You haven't been a guest since we were five asshole!"

"Well, I'm not gonna listen to them bitch," Embry said. Jake, Quil, Bella and Mia followed him outside of the house. "Those two are like an old married couple," Quil grinned when they were outside. "You got that right," Jake said.

They continued to stay outside and chat while Jared and Paul continued to talk over who would get to vacuum. Five minutes later Jake rolled his eyes. "Oh my god, just one of you do it!" he groaned. "What time do we need to get to the bonfire?" Mia asked to change the topic.

"Like half an hour I guess," Embry said, still eating the chips. "That is if we want the good food," Quil said. Jake looked at Bella. "Do you wanna bounce for a while?" he asked her quietly. She nodded. They left together.

Then Paul emerged from the door. He was holding the trash bag. "Round two?" Quil asked Embry. He nodded and they raced inside. "You got the job, huh?" Mia asked Paul. "Yeah," he sighed. Mia didn't know what to do so she tagged along with him to the trashcan.

"So, you excited for tonight?" he asked. She shrugged. "I guess so, what am I supposed to expect?" she replied. He grinned. "Bunch of stories from Billy," he said. "So, a typical dinner with him,"

After throwing the bag to the trashcan he turned to her. "It's nice... that you're back," he said. Mia couldn't help but smile. "Is this your way of telling me you missed me?" she asked. He broke out a grin. "Would that be too bad?"

"No," she said but her heart was beating in her mouth. She just hoped he didn't notice. She glanced away immediately. "Tell me more about tonight," she said instead. "Well, don't worry too much. It's Leah and Seth's first time too,"

Mia cocked a brow. "That's assuring," she said, and it really was. At least she wouldn't be the only clueless one. He sighed and grimaced. "I just hate the idea that you smell like them," he exhaled.

"What do you mean?" she asked. He shrugged. "You stay over there, when one of them is there too. I just don't like the thought of that," he said. Mia bit down on her lip. "Well, he's her boyfriend so... nothing I can do,"

"Doesn't mean I have to like it though," he muttered. Mia sighed. "It's temporary until we catch the vampires, right?" she said. He nodded. She knew of the general disdain of the pack toward the vampires so she really wasn't surprised. They were supposed to be mortal enemies, of course, he wouldn't be fond of her, a fellow member of the pack, smelling like them, especially now that they were in their territory.

They got inside. The guys had finished another game while they were outside, Embry won again, and Paul tapped into the game again as the fourth. Mia took her previous seat and started to watch their game.

When they got to the Clearwater house the boys immediealty rushed for the food. Mia, being taught proper manners and generally had more of an impulse control, helped the Clearwaters set up the place. She was in her second round of bringing out the food that she saw Seth kneeling down on the kitchen.

"Whatcha doing there, buddy?" she asked. Seth flinched and turned in surprise. "Just saving some burgers for Jake. You see how the others attack it?" he grinned. "Good call," Mia chuckled. "Shh, it's a secret," he said.

Once Sue gave Mia the clear that it was all done she rushed to the food. Her mouth was watering considering she hadn't eaten for a few hours. Not so ladylike she practically shoved her face to the miraculous burgers left.

She was over at the food table while Embry, Quil and Seth were trying to light the fire. Billy and some guy Mia didn't know were beside them watching the three. Mia didn't know where the rest of the pack was.

Then she heard footsteps coming her way. Paul was carrying two camp chairs. "Scored the best ones for us," he said, grinning. "I can see that," she replied. Just as she did she saw Jared and Sam carrying logs for people to sit on. "Very clearly," she added.

What happened next was something Mia never thought about it and she felt like she could pass away from a heart attack any given moment. Paul winked at her, yes he did that along with his little wicked grin that she was not immune too, then grabbed a napkin from the table and wiped her face. "Got same sauce on ya," he said and then turned around to carry the chairs to the fire. Mia was left gaping after him.

"You're drooling," Leah said, closing near from behind. She didn't have her usual irritated look on like she usually did around the pack. Mia for the love of her couldn't think of a response so she just turned her back on Paul.

Leah sighed. "You know, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world," she said. Paul was too occupied with the others to probably hear them, they had some distance in between anyway. "What do you mean?" Mia asked.

"You and Lahote," Leah said nonchalantly. Mia furrowed her brows. "We're both in the pack, you sure about that?" she replied. "Yeah," Leah said. "I thought the pack were my brothers," Mia said. Leah rolled her eyes. "Ew. Not actual brothers,"

Mia sighed and took just one quick glance at Paul. "Well, we're friends anyway, so, I think this conversation is pointless," she said. Leah let out a small chuckle. "Sure, whatever you say," she smirked.

She was at least glad Leah didn't resort to teasing like the guys. In truth, she was probably reading too much into Paul's friendly actions toward her. Besides, it would certainly complicate a lot of things in the pack anyway.

Then Kim showed up. Jared's girlfriend. Mia met her once before. Kim was Jared's imprint so she got to know about the pack and all. Since she was also from La Push and an imprint she was also invited to the bonfire.

The sun set and everyone started to take their seats. The time went by chatting fairly quickly. Jake and Bella hadn't showed up yet but Mia wasn't worried. They were in their territory, plus, if something was to happen Jake would be to handle it and if not he'd alert the pack.

Paul, as he said, procured the seat for Mia. The guys didn't want to sit on the log for hours, expectedly, but Paul didn't let them sit. In the end Mia was sitting next to him. She appreciated the gesture but scolded herself to stop reading too much into it.

A couple of minutes after she sat down she heard Bella and Jake approaching. Seth ran up to them. After a quick chat they took the only empty space which was on the logs. Before Billy started talking Bella gave her a glance and a all-knowing smirk while her eyes went between her and Paul. Mia mouthed her to sincerely shut up.

Billy's stories, well not really stories but the legends of the tribe, took about a good two hours. The only way Mia could tell it had been that much was that the night got darker and Bella's phone vibrated after a while.

She knew some things about the tribe but tonight basically opened her to a whole new world. This was her culture, history and heritage too. Until moving back here she never really felt like she belonged but hearing about her ancestors and the history filled her with a strange feeling of belonging.

She was really starting to see what her mom had been saying when they first moved back and what Jake said on the night they met. That home was always here and waiting and that it would recognize it's own. Mia never really felt at danger in here, even when there were vampires running inside it.

After Billy finished they all scattered around to help clean up. Paul caught up to Mia. "So, what did you think?" he asked. "I really liked it," she replied. "Yeah, I could tell, you were practically holding your breath,"

Mia chuckled. "Yeah well, I'm a first-timer, remember?" she said. "Right," he grinned. "I guess if I were to have one complaint," she said and he cocked an eyebrow," Sure, sure," Mia squinted her eyes, "I know it was really back then and all, but three wives? Cmon,"

He laughed. "So you don't have a problem with anything else but that the Chief had three wives?" he grinned. She shrugged. "I mean, yeah. I'm sure they were amazing women and Taha Aki was a cool guy and all, but three? Man,"

"Yeah but he was old, like really old because he was like us, and there was the thing where his body was stolen by Ultapa and, well, it's a bit complicated, " Paul said. Mia shrugged. "Yeah but... ehh, I don't know, it just weirded me out," she murmured. "The third wife wasn't just some woman though," Paul said. "I know, I know, she had the courage," Mia muttered. "No, I mean yeah, but no. She was actually Taha Aki's imprint,"

Mia's head shot up. "That's why he lay beside her body for three days after she sacrificed herself. And then entered the woods to never to be seen again. Losing her must have done it for him," he continued. That part she didn't know and Billy left out from the story. "Really?" she asked. Paul nodded. "Okay, now you made me feel bad for saying all those things," she pouted and lightly hit him. He chuckled.

Jake drove Bella and Mia back home. "Well, the guys should be out there," Jake said. "Who's on duty tonight?" Mia asked. Jake smirked at her. "Jared and Paul," Well, fucking great. "Okay," Mia tried to play it off cool.

Bella was grinning by the time they got inside the house. "Stop," she motioned but Bella's smile turned into a chuckle. "Oh my god," Mia rolled her eyes. Mia heard Charlie coming their way. "I swear I'll kill you if you say one word about it," she screeched to her sister just before their dad appeared in the hall.

"You guys are late," he said. "Yeah, we were in La Push. The drive took a while," Mia said. Charlie nodded. "Okay, well, I hate to do this, but I just got called in. Are you two okay with staying by yourselves?"

They both nodded. "Good, good. I'm sorry about that. Call me if something happens," he continued and then kissed both of their foreheads. "You still have the peppersprays?" he asked. "Yes dad," Mia and Bella said at the same time. Charlie put his hands in the air in defeat. "Okay, just making sure,"

After he left and the girls changed out of their clothes Bella started to grin at Mia again. "Don't," Mia warned jokingly. Bella shrugged. "I'm not doing anything," she said innocently. Mia rolled her eyes. "I don't talk about your vampire boyfriend," she said.

Bella's eyes shined. "So you do admit he's your boyfriend?" she asked. Mia has never been that quick in her entire life to shush someone. "They could hear!" she whisper yelled. Bella's eyes widened, she seemed to forget about that part completely.

She got up from her bed and opened her laptop. Then she opened some music. "Really?" Mia chuckled. Bella then took her hand and led them to the bathroom. She opened the cabinet and grabbed something. She was smiling. "Thank god for Alice," she said.

Mia realized she was holding nail polish. "I don't have any of my own but I asked Alice to leave me some, I'm lucky she just didn't fill the room with it," she smiled. Then she turned on the shower without getting in.

"What are you doing?" Mia asked dumbfounded. Bella turned to her. "Well, I can't do manicures... but we can paint our nails?" she hesitantly said. "Oh," Mia let out, "Sure," They sat on the ground.

"I think we're free to talk now," Bella said when Mia started to paint her nails. "Yeah, definitely," she replied. "But if we're going to gossip, it's going to be mutual," she continued. Bella blushed. "Okay,"

"So, you like him? Paul?" Bella asked. Mia sucked in a breath. "I can't hide it anymore, can I?" she asked. Bella chuckled. "Definetly not," she said. "Well, I don't think it's going to lead anywhere. He sees me as a friend and well, it would just complicate things now, wouldn't it?"

Bella shrugged. "Are you sure about that?" she said. " I don't think he sees you like a friend," she continued. Mia gave her a look. "I think you're seeing things that aren't there. He's the one who asked to be friends, his intents were clear,"

"You must be joking," Bella said. "I know I don't know much about romance and flirting but he's so into you," she kept going "And it's not just me who's thinking that," Mia sighed. "You mean the guys? They are just teasing,"

Bella pressed her lips together. "Yeah, with good reason. Trust me, when Edward and I first... well, I thought he hated me. Now look at us," she said. "Yeah, America's dream couple," Mia replied. Bella chuckled and yanked her.

"For a long time, and still even now, sometimes, I suppose, I think about how did someone like him got interested in me. Like he's so... beautiful and smart and," she sighed, "You know," Mia flicked her tongue. "You're not making any sense," she said to her sister.

"You're beautiful and smart and everything else. Plus, Bella, for the love of god, your self worth is not determined by how hot your partner is!" she said. Bella chuckled. "Thanks," she murmured and took a deep breath. "Is this how usually sleepovers go?"

Mia shrugged and planted a smile to her face as she was almost done on Bella's hands. "Pretty much. Normally the female empowerment and emotional support talk takes longer," she said. "Nice,"

"Okay, tell me more about Paul," she grinned. Mia rolled her eyes. "What do you want to know?" she asked. Bella shrugged while Mia finished the job on her hands. "My turn," she said. Bella was looking at her with shining eyes.

Mia also realized that Bella probably didn't have many female friends before and she was new to all of this. This not only being having sleepover or girl talk but also someone to talk things with.

"Well, I get the usual butterflies every time, you know? I'm so glad that they don't hear my thoughts because I would be exposed and way too embarrassed. And, oh yeah, the usual sex dreams,"

Bella's eyes widened at the last remarks. "You did?" she gaped. Mia nodded, a bit surprised at her reaction. "Yeah," she said, "Don't you have them?" Bella shook her head. It was Mia's time to be surprised now. "But... What? Really? Never?"

Bella's reaction was the same. "Didn't you and Edward never had to stop in the middle of it or something? Or don't your mind wander after a heavy make out?" she asked. Bella was now as read as a tomato. "No...?"

Mia furrowed her brows. "You do stuff... right?" she asked. Bella tucked her hairs behind her ears. "We... kiss," she said quietly. "You two, never?" Mia asked again. Bella shook her head. "No, he thinks it'd be too dangerous,"

Mia's mouth fell open. "I'm not shaming but... don't you get the urges? Doesn't he?" she asked. Bella shrugged. "He doesn't show if he gets it. And whenever I try to make it go further he stops it so I'm left to wander on my own, I guess,"

"What about you?" she asked. "What about me?" Mia asked back. "What is the furthest you've gone?" Bella let out. "Oh," Mia chuckled "Nothing with Paul. But yeah I've pretty much done the most of it,"

"So you're not a virgin?" Bella asked. Mia nodded. "Haven't been for a year and a half," she said. "The first time isn't that scary but don't overthink it," she continued. Bella gave a low smile. "Sure," she said.

Mia was done painting her nails. "Okay, what now?" Bella asked. Mia smiled. "Now we wait and don't touch anything so it doesn't smudge," she sighed. "Any chance Alice also brought polish dryer too?" 

Four days later it was wolf day again. Mia spent the last three days with Bella and Edward at night but last night she finally went home. With her luck, her mom had the night shift so she stayed alone.

She didn't really mind it as she liked being with Bella and she tolerated Edward but she missed being alone. Personal space was important. She had a long bath without any fear of any surprise attack or bath line and hopped onto her bed.

Since her dad's house had only two bedrooms and she didn't want her dad to sleep on the couch for her as it was his room and it'd be weird to be in his room, even probably the room where her sister had been conceived which was not a pleasant thought, she had been sleeping on the couch for the duration of her stay at the Swan house.

The next day was a weekend, and after sleeping in, Mia went to Emily's. Expectedly Jake wasn't there. He probably picked Bella up and they were somewhere in La Push. Bella's car was here. Jared was off today to see Kim. Sam and Emily were out shopping. Leah and Seth were patrolling for the day.

Quil, Embry and Paul were at Emily's. "So she left the house to you guys?" Mia asked. Quil nodded, taking a bite of whatever Emily cooked. "I hope she has insurance," Mia snickered and sat down.

"Ha-ha, we're more responsible than that," Embry said. Mia squinted her eyes at him. "Are you though?" she asked. Embry made a vulgar hand gesture. Mia chuckled. "We have our nanny now, don't we?" Quil interjected.

"Oh, yeah. The sweet old crush on the sexy nanny, good times," Embry smirked. Mia took a deep breath and forced out a smile. "On that note, I think I'm gonna go for a walk. Don't burn the house down while I'm gone,"

"No promises!" Quil shouted from behind. Children, they were children. Mia was getting Sam and him being completely done with the guys with each passing day. She wished she could have the patience of him and Emily.

She walked around for a while and even distantly ran into Seth and Leah. They were in their wolf forms. Mia waved at them and then changed her route. She really wished she had her phone on right now so that she could listen to music.

Being a part of the pack meant that she didn't get to use her phone nearly as much as she used to. In result she forgot it even existed at times. The only people she had to contact now were the pack and she didn't need a phone for that.

"I could knock some sense into them, you know, if you wanted," Paul said, emerging between the trees. Mia smiled. "Why is it that you always find me in the middle of the woods at times like this?" she retorted.

He shrugged. "Fate?" he said with an adorable face. Mia chuckled but her gut was doing backflips. "What are you doing here?" she asked to change the topic. "Would you believe me if I said they annoyed me too?"

"Aren't you used to them?" Mia asked. "In that case, I want to change my answer to I would prefer your company then?" he said and Mia forgot to breathe for a second. This. The words he picked, the way he said them, the look she gave her made her like this.

She tried to chuckle. "You know, us, acting like this is the exact reason why they're teasing," she said. He put his hands inside his shorts pockets and fell beside Mia as they started to walk. "You don't like it?"

She furrowed her brows. "I didn't say that. But it makes them think things, I mean, we're friends, right? We're all friends," she continued. She saw his face twitching but he covered it almost immediately. "Yeah, yeah,"

"But I also meant what I said. If it is bothering you, I'll kick their asses gladly," he said sternly. They now reached Emily's house. At least they were close, it was fairly visible between the trees. "I don't doubt it, but would your hotheaded approach be the best?"

Paul smirked. "If it's necessary," he was fast to reply, "Plus, I think I deserve some credit here. I have been level-headed for a while now," he said. Mia nodded. "You're right," she said. He smiled in return.

Mia was smiling back at him but inside she was cursing herself. He reestablished that they were friends just a minute ago but she was already thinking about him in a not appropriate way for friends to be.

"Let me ask you something, so I get better perspective," he hummed. "Okay," Mia encouraged. Paul reached out and touched her arm. Mia's heart stopped. He was touching her, this was not a figment of her imagination, he made physical contact.

It was only her arm and Mia was reading too much into it again. Damn Bella and what she said last night, it got inside her mind. This was a friendly gesture, offering comfort to a friend.

"Is it the teasing that makes you uncomfortable or the actual behavior?" he asked slowly. Mia watched his adam's apple move and the way he licked his lips before he spoke up. Fuck, she was getting too deep.

Mia didn't know whether it was lucky or unlucky, but before she got the change to even attempt to answer the question, which had a complicated answer for her that she would dwell on later since the interruption was the sound of her sister and she did not sound pleased.

"I can't believe you did that!" Bella was yelling. "And DON'T. TOUCH. ME." she continued. Mia moved in an instant and met her sister and friend. Bella was stomping away from Jake and holding her hand. Her face indicated she was in pain.

Mia looked at Jake then neared her sister. "What happened?" she asked her. Bella seemed relieved to see Mia. "Oh, thank god," she breathed out, "Keep him away from me," Mia turned to Jake. "What did you do?"

Mia knew Jake despised the Cullens, which wasn't a secret, but ever since they learned that Bella wanted to be one of them Jake was trying to convince Bella to stay human. Which reminded Mia that she and Bella never thoroughly talked about it but they promised they would.

"Mia, can you drive us home? Please? Now?" Bella let out. "Of course," Mia said and grabbed the keys from Bella's other hand. They got inside the car, luckily Jake was smart enough not to come closer to them or Mia would probably slap him to tomorrow. She didn't know the cause but Bella seemed to be in pain and she probably could guess why.

Bella sighed. "Can you call Edward too? Bring me to him? He's going to freak out but I think Carlisle could help," Bella murmured. Mia nodded and got the phone her sister was handing to her. "Sure, whatever you need,"

Mia ended up calling Edward. But before she did she wanted Bella to tell her what happened. Then she almost turned the car around to kick Jake's ass. Bella stopped her. "You know that I won't hurt myself if I punch him, right?"

"I know, but I'm in too much pain and well, I don't want to think about it for now," she said. With a sigh, Mia obliged. She didn't tell Edward the specifics, or else he would probably go crazy, break the treaty and attack Jake which wouldn't benefit anyone. She told her they were on their way and that Doctor Cullen should be ready for Bella.

Bella started giving Mia the directions after they came to Forks. Like everyone else in Forks, Mia didn't know where the Cullens lived. She wasn't too surprised to find out it was out of town and deep into the forest. She was even more surprised as to how there were even proper roads leading to it.

Edward and Carlisle were waiting outside of the big house that Mia couldn't take her eyes off of by the time the house came into eyesight. Edward looked feral and ready to kill someone. He rushed to Bella's side and opened the door for her.

"Are you okay?" he asked her. Bella nodded. "Mostly, yeah, the pain's mostly gone away," she murmured. "Carlisle," Edward muttered and helped her get out. Bella stopped them and turned around. "You can take the truck back to your place. I'll get it later,"

Mia furrowed her brows. Her mouth was beating in her mouth because of all the events, and oh yeah, being at the vampires' house. It felt too intimate and... uninviting for her. "You sure?" she asked.

"Would you like to come in?" Carlisle asked her. Mia gulped. Sure she wanted to be by her sister's side and yes she was around the Cullens at school when she went but... their house. It just seemed intimidating. "Just an offer, you don't have to," Carlisle continued. Mia sighed. "Well, just let me know how she is," she said. Bella offered a smile. Edward turned to her. "Thanks for driving her," Mia gave him a head nod and even a small smile. Then she started driving to her house.

Bella's truck was old and rusty, no lie there, and nowhere as easy as her mom's car but with the whole drive from La Push, Mia got the hang of it. Mostly. She ran over the events at her head. Jake kissed Bella. Normally, Mia wouldn't get upset over that. If Bella had wanted to kiss him too. But she didn't and that was the problem. Okay, they were teenagers and okay Jake had a crush on Bella for the longest time but it did not grant him permission to kiss her just because he wanted to or to prove a point. She could kill him for that.

She started to take deep breaths to calm herself down. She could not lose control now. Firstly, she was in her sister's truck and she did not want to cause an accident and her sister her car. Secondly, she had been learning for a while now and she did not want to lose her progress over her control.

Even though she was beyond pissed.

She parked in front of her house. There was no point in going to her dad's house now since they weren't there. And she really didn't want to be around Charlie like this. She couldn't afford any kind of accident under any circumstances.

Then she realized the figure sitting outside of her door. It was already dark, the sun had set when they got to Forks the first time and it wasn't exactly a short drive to the Cullen house from the town.Mia squinted her eyes when the figure got up.

"Paul?"

He sighed and seemed relieved to see her. His eyes quickly went over her. "Ah, you're okay," he breathed out and embraced her when she got close enough. Mia was surprised to say the least to the gesture.

"Yeah, I am," she said, hugging him back. He didn't seem ready to let go so she didn't push him. "Why wouldn't I be?" she said jokingly to lighten the mood. He didn't answer. "Jake's the one who's not going to be okay when I get my hands on him," That made him relax and he even let out a low chuckle. "I believe you," he said.

He had let her go. They were standing awkwardly outside of the door. "Do you want to come in?" Mia found herself asking. He didn't give a negative answer so she opened the door and got inside. As he did too she realized her mom wasn't home yet.

"Not to be rude, but, what are you doing here?" she asked him after closing the door. Seeing him standing in her living room, shirtless she might add as always, made her feel all giddly inside. "And how did you know my address?"

"I took it out of Jake," he said and took a step closer. " And I heard that you were going to drive your sister to their house. I just... needed to see that you were alright," he continued. Mia's heart skipped a beat.

This time even she couldn't come up with an explanation for the way he was behaving. There was no friendly explanation this time. She gulped. "Well, I'm okay," she said, suddenly feeling very dry in her mouth.

"Besides, we, unfortunately, never got to finish our conversation earlier," he said slowly, holding her hand. Mia looked down to their joined hands and then back at him. They were so close now, just like in the dreams or her fantasies and--

"And I'd really like to finish it," he said. Mia bit down on her lip. "Okay," she managed to let out. "Do you get uncomfortable by me... us... being close?" he asked. Mia couldn't find it in herself to speak so she just shook her head.

"Good," he smiled. Mia sucked in a deep breath. "Are you uncomfortable with there being an us?" he asked. He seemed to be getting closer, but exctrucitangly slowly, with every word too and Mia shook her head again.

She licked her lips. "I wasn't imagining things, was I?" she let out. He smirked. Oh, god, Mia could melt right there and then! "You don't see me flirting with anyone else in the pack, do you?"

Oh, oh, OH! So he was admitting it, so Mia wasn't reading too much into it, he really was flirting with her all this time. It wasn't all in her head. She felt like she could lose her balance with the revelation so she clunged at her side with the hand he wasn't holding.

Oh, god, this was real, this was happening. All of the anger and the worry and frustration she was feeling a minute ago had flown out of the window. She didn't care about anything or anyone at that moment and only him and her and that exact second.

For a split moment she wondered if that was what her sister felt with Edward and why she wouldn't let go of him. But the thought slipped away as everything else as she once again realized they were so close, she was so close.

"Don't you think it would be a problem?" she asked. She had been thinking about that. They were in the pack together, they were supposed to be 'brothers and sisters' with the whole tribe in fact as Billy liked to remind them.

He exhaled and Mia felt it on her mouth. God, he was so close. She was about to die. "Trust me when I say this, it will never ever be a problem," he said in a low tone. His sound came out raspy, just like the first dream she had about him and it ticked her off.

Mia leaned forward, her hand on his arm keeping her up tightening and she pressed her lips to his. As if he was waiting for it, and he was, Paul grabbed her waist and pulled her even closer. He didn't seem surprised by the kiss, he was more than willing and he showed it.

Meanwhile, Mia's whole world was spinning around. There was nothing and no one that mattered at that split second and only him. Him and him only. She couldn't actually believe this was really happening and he was liking her back.

And one pleasant realization? He kissed better than she could imagine. Better than the dreams she had. Better than anyone she had ever kissed and she would ever kiss, if she would ever kiss someone other than him at this point.

She got lost, left herself in the moment, didn't even care if she breathed or not, that right there was what she needed to live anyway. It was a clarity for her, the moment she let herself get what she had been wanting for a while, she had found the purpose of her life. Her life or the pack and not even her family was the priority anymore, as it pained her to realize and she couldn't even feel selfish because she felt like it was not the goddamn gravity holding her down in Earth but him, Paul.

She moved her hands, her lips, her mouth, her tongue, as if they were trying to get lost in each other for all of eternity. She wanted to touch him, explore him, never let him go now that she had him. She could feel her heartbeat, his heartbeat, it was as if they were beating together.

Then she woke up from the dream. With a cough. A loud cough. She flinched and they broke apart. When Mia turned around she saw her mom at the door with a shocked look on her face. "Mom," she managed to let out.

"Amelia," Liz said. Okay, that was not a good sign. "Who is your friend?" she continued. Mia saw Paul gulp. "My name is Paul Lahote ma'am," he said. Liz looked between them. "Is he...?" she said as she looked him up and down.

"From the pack? Yes," Mia said. Liz nodded. "Okay, well, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it but... is this something you do with the pack?" she said. Mia never felt as red and hot as she felt now. "Uhm, nope,"

Paul gulped. "I should get going," he stammered. "Yeah, yeah," Mia tackled with getting the words out. "I'll be in the kitchen," Liz said. They waited until she went inside the kitchen. Mia turned to Paul. "I'm so sorry," she said as she opened the door and he stepped outside.

He smiled. "Why? That was the best moment of my life," he replied. Mia felt the urge to kiss him again just for that but knew she shouldn't. Or she wouldn't be able to go this time. She instantly smiled.

"We'll talk later then?" she murmured. He nodded. "Later," he whispered. Then he leaned forward and kissed her cheek. Mia sucked in her breath at that. She was blushing again. He gave her one last of his grins and she could feel her entire body bursting into literal flames.

She watched him walk away for a minute then closed the door. She was still in the haze of it. Liz. Her mom. Crap! Right. She motioned to go to the kitchen but she hit the coffee table in the middle. "Fuck," she muttered under her breath, she didn't even see the table which was placed there for years.

She, more carefully this time, went to the kitchen. She still wasn't able to focus probably because of what just happened. Liz was in the kitchen, looking inside the fridge. She turned to Mia with a smirk. "So... Paul?"


	17. Chapter 17

Liz didn't go too hard Mia which was a relief. She seemed surprised, pleasantly surprised. She was still confused about the whole pack thing but she didn't say anything to anyone as promised. Mia could see that she was beyond worried but she was trying.

And Liz admitted that she was relieved that Mia wasn't only running around chasing vampires but doing things a person her age would do. As she drilled the gossip out of her, for a second, Mia felt like it was the way things used to be, before all of this.

The next day Liz went to work while Mia slept in for the second time in a row. When she woke up, she couldn't help but giggle as the events of last night played on her mind. She had kissed Paul, Paul had kissed her back and even said that it was the best moment of his life. She wasn't the only one who developed feelings.

She grabbed her phone and found herself almost texting Caitlyn and Olivia. Oh, Cait and Olivia. How much she had missed them and how much she wanted them to be next to her, to talk about this. She wanted to tell them everything, both the truth and Paul.

But she couldn't.

Instead, she opened the text from Bella. She had informed her like Mia asked but Mia was too occupied last night to think or see the text. Turns out Bella's hand wasn't broken, just sprained. And it would heal in a week, which Bella was happy about since that was when Alice was throwing her the graduation party. Which also meant that school would end in a week.

Bella was graduating and although Mia was happy about the occasion she also knew what came after it. She and her sister never actually talked about it, still, but Mia was aware of Bella's intent. She had to talk to her soon about it.

On the upper side, at least Mia would be able to freely be with the pack now that school was over. And she was also becoming a senior which was both exciting and sad at the same time. She would graduate high school in a year and her life had changed so much in the past months that... she didn't know what her future would be like now.

It scared her but at least she had other things to occupy her mind. Like the red-head or the intruder vampire they still couldn't identify. Or Paul and what last night meant. They didn't get a chance to speak about it all since Liz caught them. Mia wasn't entirely sure if they would be able to talk about it if her mom didn't walk in on them too.

She blushed as she thought about it again. It wasn't like the memories just got away for a second but she got overwhelmed again. Oh god, she really was in too deep already.

There was a tap on her window. She jerked up and saw Paul. He was standing outside of her window. She jumped out of her bed and went to the window. "You could have used the door," she said with a smile.

He shrugged. "Never could be more cautious," he smirked. Mia took a step back and he jumped inside. "Okay, uhm, give me two minutes," she said and rushed to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth while simultaneously brushing her hair.

"What are you doing here?" she entered her room with a smile. "Uh, I thought it was obvious," he replied, looking confused. "Is it?" she murmured. "Do you need me to remind you?" he asked in a low tone and Mia had to remind herself to breathe.

Paul seemed delighted to get that reaction from her. "Because it would be my pleasure," he said, getting closer once again. Mia had to bite down on her lip to not do something stupid. "I'd like that," she let out.

Then, in a second, his lips were on hers and she forgot her name again. It wasn't as life-changing as last night and frankly, Mia didn't think anything else in her life could ever top that, but it was more than satisfactory.

Now that both of them grew more comfortable with the fact that, yes, indeed, they were kissing and wanted to kiss each other, it wasn't as shocking. Mia let his hands roam all over her while she dipped her fingers in his hair, pulling him even closer than possible.

Mia could die from the way he kissed her, the way he used his tongue, and the little kisses between the heated moments. She was a special fan of the way he clasped her bottom lip between his teeth. It lit her whole body on fire and left her wanting for more. Much more.

He was the one to pull back. "Reminded?" he whispered. Mia had to catch her breath and look at him. Her face was between his hands and she didn't even know when they got so far up when she could swear they were everywhere at her body a second ago.

"What?" she made out. He chuckled. "Did that help you remember?" he said. "Oh, yeah, definitely," she breathed out. "Give me a second," she said and laid her head against his chest to catch her breath.

She heard her laugh silently and pulling his hands to her waist to support her. His arms were around her body as she took a few breaths in. When she felt okay enough from the second kiss and his dizzying smell she looked up. She was still in his arms, and she loved it, and put her fist on where her forehead used to be.

"We have to talk," she sighed. "We are talking," he replied. She rolled her eyes jokingly. "No, I mean, seriously," she said. He nodded and let go of her. They sat on her bed's side to side. "What's gonna happen now?" she asked.

He seemed dumbfounded. "What do you mean?" he asked. Mia sighed. "I mean, with the pack. Don't you think it's going to be weird? How are we going to tell them? _What_ are we going to tell them?"

"Well, what do you want to tell them?" he responded. Mia widened her eyes. "I don't know," she exclaimed. Paul grabbed her hands. "Mia Evans, it feels like a thousand lifetimes that I have been waiting for you. You. And I don't have the intention to ever let you go, so the rest of it? Doesn't concern me one bit,"

He looked serious. Mia examined him for a moment. He meant every word he said. "How does that sound?" he asked. It sounded perfect. She found herself on top of him, kissing him again after that statement.

He laid back on her bed with her on top. "Besides, I think the whole pack knows by now," he said between their kisses and Mia shot up in surprise. "What? No, what did you do?" she asked. He had his sleazy grin on.

"Jared was at my house when I returned. He could tell something happened so I told him. I imagine he blabbed to everyone by now," he explained. Mia buried her face in her hands for a moment.

"Well, I suppose that's a good thing," she reached that conclusion after a minute. At least they didn't have to tell them and go through their teasing. Oh, god, their teasing. The bastards knew all along!

Paul nodded. "Yeah," he murmured. Mia left his lap and laid next to him. "You do know the teasings are going to get worse, right?" she said. He shrugged. "Then we'll kick their ass, together," And Mia liked the sound of that. 

In her defense facing the pack didn't go as bad as she planned. The teasing from the boys didn't get as worse as it could have been and no one batted an eye. They even seemed relieved about Mia and Paul actually. Emily had muttered "Finally,". Mia didn't know what to make of it.

The week passed by in a blur. The first time Mia saw Jake she gave him a piece of her mind and the guys calmed the situation down without it got too violent. Other than that the week went pretty uneventful, the pack was on Bella duty for only a day of the week.

Then it was Friday. The graduation. The night before Mia had to patrol with Paul, Jared, and Quil. She pulled Paul aside before they went their ways. "Do you have plans for tonight?" she asked. "Uh, sleeping? Unless Sam says otherwise,"

"I had something else in mind," she smirked. He cocked an eyebrow. "Bella is having her graduation party tonight," she continued. "The one with the vampires?" he asked. Bella had invited Jake a while ago but after the whole thing, no one expected him to go.

Mia nodded excitedly. "You know, I'm all for spending time with you... just not with leeches around?" Paul hesitantly said. "I know that obviously, "Mia retorted. "But I was thinking that I could tell my parents I'm going and tell Bella to cover for me," she started.

Then she got on her tippy toes to lean into his ear. "Mom's got the night shift tonight," she whispered. Mia didn't have to sneak around ever since Liz found out the truth, she was free to go anywhere whenever she wanted. If it was about the pack.

Her mom wasn't an idiot and she knew her daughter so she also knew what she would get up to now that Paul had officially come into the picture. But this seemed like a good chance. "Now you're talking," Paul grinned. "See you at seven," Mia said.

It only had been a week since they kissed but they had known each other for a good while now. Mia didn't know what they were, they never talked about it after Paul basically confessed his love and she didn't mainly have a problem with that.

Perhaps her only problem was that they hadn't had the chance to be alone, properly, since their second kiss at her room. Their pack schedules contradicted each other for the past week which meant they didn't get much time without the whole pack.

You would think that finally kissing or making out with the person who you had been having wet dreams for weeks and that were the main actor of your daydreams would make you finally stop having them. Wrong. If only it increased them more.

And Mia was getting more and more flushed. She had never felt like this way before, not for Tommy or Garrett- her first serious boyfriend. Was that how real feelings of love and affection were supposed to make you feel like?

Mia went home and set her alarm. Even though she was going to skip the party she didn't want to miss her sister's actual graduation. It was at 3 PM so she had a couple of hours to sleep and get ready before Charlie picked her up.

They entered the room where the graduation was supposed to take place. Luckily she and her dad found two empty seats together. Mia could spot Caitlyn, Olivia, and Caitlyn's parents in the row. Jack was graduating too. In a different life, she would be sitting next to them.

The ceremony started with the principal giving a speech. Then it was time for the valedictorian, Jessica Stanley, to give a speech. Mia overheard Caitlyn whispering a sneaky comment to Olivia. For all Mia could have known Cait might have left her Mike crush in the past but she still held a grudge against Jessica.

Once the speeches were over the principal started announcing the names and the students went to the stage to receive their diplomas one by one. When Bella's name was announced Charlie got up to clap, he looked emotional. Mia grabbed his hand and gave it a tight squeeze after he sat down again.

The whole ceremony took about an hour and a half. Bella rushed back to her sister and dad once it was over. She hugged their dad first then Mia. "I'm so proud of you Bells," Charlie said. Bella let out a smile. "Thanks,"

"Photo time!" Alice appeared behind them with her high-pitched voice while holding a camera. "You still have that?"Bella asked her. Alice nodded. "Of course! It's for your scrapbook," she said with a smile. "Cmon,"

Alice must have taken dozens of pictures. Bella with Mia, with Charlie, all three of them together, Bella with Edward even some of Mia and Charlie together too. "See you tonight," Alice said before she left their side with Edward to join their family.

Charlie turned to the girls. "Celebratory pizza?" he asked. Both Mia and Bella agreed. They went to the house while Charlie ordered the pizzas. They were all huddled at the kitchen table, stuffing pizzas and having a good time.

Mia was reminded of the time when she first came over for a dinner of three of them. How awkward had it been back then. It didn't feel like that now, she actually felt in place now.

"I never thought I'd live to see the day," Charlie murmured after he finished eating. "Because of your unhealthy diet of take-overs and beer?"Bella smirked at their dad. He chuckled and waved his hand in the air.

He leaned back on his chair. "Wow, you graduated high school, and you, you'll graduate next year," he said. Bella and Mia shared a look. "You guys are basically adults now," he sighed. "I always thought it'd be your mother who would be sending me the pictures,"

Bella shrugged. "Yeah well now you've got the original pieces, that's gotta count for something," she said. Charlie looked at her and tried to smile. "Yeah, yeah, sure," he muttered. "Give me a minute," he continued and got up.

Mia turned to her sister. "Is he going to cry?" she whispered to him. "I've never seen him cry," Bella whispered back. "You broke dad," Mia said and they burst into laughter. "On another note, I need a favor from you,"

"Okay," Bella said. "Can you cover for me tonight at the party?" Mia asked. Bella smirked. "You're gonna be with him?" she asked. "Yes," she blushed. "Then with pleasure," Bella replied. "But after I want the details,"

Mia nodded and smiled but suddenly it hit her like a truck. It was exactly what Cait or Olivia would say to her. She didn't mind getting close enough to Bella that she felt comfortable enough to say the same words but Mia got reminded of the longing she felt for her best friends.

They spent a couple more hours together before Mia and Bella left. Bella gave Mia a ride to her house then headed for the Cullen house for the infamous graduation party. Mia couldn't help but think if she never shifted, she'd probably be at this party as well along with Cait and Olivia.

She entered the empty house. If she had never shifted she'd be getting ready to get to the party. She and the girls would be thinking about how to convince their parents for their road trip idea to go to Los Angeles for the summer before their senior year. She would be worrying over getting accepted to colleges, not vampires.

She walked to her nightstand and opened the top drawer to get the locket. It was the bracelet Caitlyn and Olivia gave her for her birthday with their names engraved. The bracelet ripped after the first time Mia shifted. Jake had found only the locket part of it and had returned it to her after she joined the pack.

She never got it fixed, because... well, it would get ruined again. She had to shift, voluntarily or involuntarily, for a few times out of a sudden. It was bound to break. A tear fell on her hand. How did her life had changed so drastically in mere months?

Before her main concerns were to keep up below-average grades, not missing curfew, try not to get spoiled, and theorize about Marvel movies. She would get together with her friends to talk about romance or gossip. Not anymore.

"You okay?" Paul asked. Mia turned to him. His face hardened when he realized she was crying. He was standing outside of her window. She had left it open in the morning. He jumped in effortlessly.

"What's wrong?" he asked in a soft tone. Mia showed her the locket she was holding. "Caitlyn and Olivia got it for me on my birthday. We all had one," she explained. "I saw them at the graduation today... and I... I just..." she sighed.

She looked up at him. For some reason, she felt extremely comfortable around him. There was no reason why she couldn't be vulnerable in front of him. She just felt it in her gut. "I couldn't help but think,"

He put his hand over hers. "Yeah," he murmured. "I miss them so much. They were the first people who were there for me when I first moved here. The ones who helped me fit in. We weren't friends, we were closer and I... I miss them. And it kills me, kills me that I can't be with them,"

Paul didn't reply. He only looked at her, giving her room to go on. "Kills me that I have to lie to them, that I have to pretend like they don't exist, avoid them whenever we're physically close. Not a day went by where we didn't at least talk before. Now, now I can't even properly remember the last time we hung out,"

The tears started to run down her face by that point. "It's crazy for me that every aspect of my life changed in a few months. Before I couldn't even think of my life without them and now I can't even remember it," she choked. Paul wrapped his arms around her.

"I can't help but think if none of this had happened... I mean, it's all upside down. A few months ago my life wasn't like this. I was an only child, I didn't turn into a wolf and I didn't have to lie to everyone,"

She looked at him. "Today was rough. At first, they would talk, I could hear them. About why I was avoiding. Today... they didn't even try. I mean, I don't blame them, I treated them horribly but... it just hurts? You know?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I know," he sighed. "It's not easy, the things we have to do. But we have to do them. Doesn't mean we have to like it," he continued. Mia snuggled against his chest. She felt safe, more than safe.

"I just miss them, so much," she said. "I mean, I know I've got Bella and the pack and all but... I didn't think I'd have to lose them," Paul squeezed her tighter. "You are allowed to feel that way, like I said, it's not easy,"

She didn't continue. He didn't push her. He just held her for a while. Mia shed a few more tears, the locket inside her fist burning on her skin. She felt guilty, so guilty about it all but the knowledge that she literally had no other option was weighing on her.

"I totally didn't see tonight going like this... I'm sorry," she forced out a chuckle and looked at him. They weren't hugging anymore. He shrugged. "It's okay, I don't mind," he replied. She smiled. "Thank you,"

They laid on her bed next to each other. "Do you want to tell me about them?" he asked softly. "I have a vague idea of them from you but I would listen, if you wanted to talk," he continued. "Really?" she murmured and he nodded firmly.

Mia took a deep breath. "Well, I don't know where to start, there is just too much," she said. "How did you first meet?" he asked. Mia smiled as she remembered. "Well, it was the first day of freshman year. The school was smaller than the one I attended in Seattle but I got lost. It was my first time stepping inside the building. I was five minutes late for the class. So was Caitlyn. Caitlyn sat next to Olivia, they were already friends before so... Anyway, the class was full and there weren't any seats left and the teacher asked me to sit next to them. That's how we met,"

She then told him about her friends. How Caitlyn was the literal embodiment of drama queen but how she also had a big heart and how loyal she was. And how Olivia was the one who kept their craziness down to Earth but she was the best listener in the entire world.

She continued with a couple more stories on how they waged the prank war with Caitlyn's brother Jack, the first time they stole his car after Olivia got her license since she was the oldest among them and the time they camped outside the movie theater before the movie _Endgame_ and froze their asses off because they weren't properly prepared for the night, since they all loved Marvel.

Paul laughed with her as she walked him through her memories. "I miss them around. I know it's silly but I can't help but think how they would react to the stuff that has happened to me recently,"

"It's not silly," he replied. She gave him a look. "If they saw me turn into a huge wolf Cait would probably call Hollywood to make a movie on it to become celebrities so we can meet our celebrity crushes while Olivia would be... well she would first have a meltdown than jump on board with the idea while laughing,"

He chuckled. "Okay that might be silly," he said. She joined him. "But they would still be there," she sighed. "What else would they do if they were here?" he asked. Mia averted her eyes from him. "Truth?" she murmured.

"Of course," he replied. "We would probably... talk about you," she confessed. He smirked. "Yeah? And what would they say?" he asked. Mia felt herself blush. "I'm not going to tell you, it's embarrassing," she said, sitting up on the bed.

He did the same and grabbed her from her waist, leaning on her ear from behind. "Oh, cmon! You kind of have to now!" he protested. Mia chuckled. "It's really silly," she said and tried to get away. He didn't let her and put her back down on the bed and got top of her.

"I'm not letting you go until you tell me," he grinned. She bit down on her lip and blushed, the position they were in was... suggestive. "Well, you're gonna be like that for a while then," she challenged.

He chuckled again. "I'm fine with that," he said. Mia looked at his eyes and they stayed like that for a while. He really must have meant what he said because he didn't show any signs of getting tired of towering over her.

"Okay, okay. You win," she sighed and he laid next to her again with a victorious grin. "But you can't tease me about it, promise?" she said. "Promise," he said. Mia took a deep breath to gather the courage.

The blood rushed to her cheeks and she broke out a smile. "They would ask me if... if you were the playlist," she said. He furrowed his brows. "The playlist?" he muttered. Mia nodded. "I don't get how that's silly,"

Mia turned to him and breathed again. "I wasn't done yet!" she let out. " The playlist is what it is. A list of songs that... make me feel things. You know, romantic stuff. Whenever I listen to the playlist, I get this feeling in my gut, this sense... Anyway, and whenever I imagine what love must feel like I think about how those songs make me feel. Like in my dreams whenever I pictured myself in love the feeling I thought was the same as the songs," she said slowly.

"It probably doesn't make sense," she murmured and looked away. This was the first time she ever discussed the playlist with someone other than Caitlyn and Olivia and in truth, she was a bit of afraid of seeing his reaction to it. Like he guessed what she was thinking, his fingers traveled to her chin from her waist. He softly pulled her face toward his.

He didn't seem like he found it funny or boring. "Hmmh," he murmured, "What would your answer be to the girls then?" he asked, his voice raspy. Mia gulped. Her heartbeat fastened ever since he made her turn to him. She didn't know why she was feeling so anxious now after everything they said.

She licked her lips. "I would say... yes. That I do feel, that way, when I'm with you," she said. His face lit up with her answer. "Well, I'm fucking glad," he rasped and leaned down to kiss her. She immediately responded to the kiss, putting her hands at his back.

He deepened the kiss and his hands went inside from her shirt. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him closer. She pressed herself against him and he responded by grabbing her lower lip between his teeth and pulled it to himself.

She opened her eyes and looked into his. He looked different than he did a minute ago, his brown eyes were soft before but now they looked like there was a fire in them. He dived back in, his lips trailing down to her neck. He was kissing, licking, and even biting her skin.

The more he did what he was doing the more hot Mia started to feel. A chill went through her when he trailed his teeth along her neck. Her hands found his neck and pulled it to her face to kiss again.

He pulled her shirt to her neck and his mouth went down to her breasts. He was doing the same things he did to her neck a second ago and Mia wanted more, more, more. He sucked the piece of skin just above her left nipple after already playing with her nipple for a while.

She let out a moan. He got fueled by the gesture and his hands traveled down. He quickly pulled down her shorts. Paul slowly started to kiss down her body. He was leaving kisses everywhere, slowly torturing her.

Then, his thumb brushed over her panties. Mia sucked in a breath. His lips were on her tight, brushing against it and sometimes leaving little kisses. He pressed his thumb up and down slowly.

She had been waiting for this moment so long that she was already dripping wet. His pace fastened a bit and just as the second Mia closed her eyes to give in to the sensation she yelped with Paul biting on her tight. That was going to leave a mark, sure... but she didn't give a fucking damn.

He chuckled lowly. Mia could come from that sight alone. She couldn't wait any longer, she put her hands to the edge of her underwear. "No, no, no," he whispered, grabbing her hands and pulling them above her head.

His left hand stayed there, firmly holding down her wrists and he kissed her neck again. His right hand, again, slowly and painfully brushed against her arm. It stopped for a while on her breasts and he captured her nipple between his fingers.

She squealed and he kissed her. She put her tongue into action to tell him to go faster. It worked, his right hand slowly slid inside her underwear. First, they remained at her clit like before, in the same motion with a faster pace.

It was building up inside her. His fingers and lips were coordinated in a way that she had forgotten her name. Then he slid one finger inside of her and her eyes flashed open as she let out another moan. She knew he was tall and had big hands but she grasped how big they were once they were actually inside of her.

His thumb had replaced the other finger and was slowly massaging her. His left hand was still holding her arms above their heads and Mia felt like she was about to explode. Then her hands were free and both of his hands were at her underwear. He pulled them down with such force that Mia wasn't sure how it didn't get ripped.

His lips trailed along the same way his hands did and they finally stopped above her clit. He licked it there and even flicked it with his tongue a couple of times, driving her even more crazy, before going further down.

He was edging her on purpose and he looked like he enjoyed it. His hands were on both of her thighs, keeping them apart and caressing them. He then dived in with full force. He was giving it all. Mia didn't even realize her hands were inside his hair, pushing him even more.

The electricity erupted to her whole body and her legs started to shake. That hadn't happened for a long while. He pulled back with a grin and grabbed a piece of her skin on her thigh. He let it go after kissing.

Mia was out of breath.

But it wasn't done yet. It was her time to have fun with him. She pulled him toward her and kissed him. Then she got on top of him. Her nipples were throbbing the more she pressed down on him. She trailed to his neck.

He wasn't soft with her so she wasn't with him. Her fingertips were at the edge of his shorts and he let out a growl when she tried to pull it down. "Not yet," she whispered to his ear and pulled on his earlobe for a second.

Just like him, she started kissing him all over his body, painfully slow. Her hands were traveling his body, sometimes even digging into his skin. She could see he was already hard, even from the top of his underwear and shorts. She gave him a wicked grin.

Then, the worst imaginable thing happened.

The house door was knocked. More like banged. Couple of times. She let out a curse. "We know you're in there!" Jake yelled. Then Mia's anger and frustration turned to embarrassment and she jumped away from Paul. She was practically naked.

She looked at him. "What are we going to do?" she whispered to him. "We can hear you too!" Quil yelled. "Yo, open up!" Embry called out. Paul sighed. "I am going to kill them," he muttered and got up from the bed.

Mia sank into the bed. She needed to get it together, hell, she needed to get dressed. "What?" Paul opened the door and snapped at their friends. Mia rolled to the edge of the bed and grabbed her surprisingly intact underwear and shorts. She put them on quickly and fixed her bra and shirt.

"We've gotta talk," Jake said. Mia got up from the bed. Her legs still felt wobbly. She went to the door. "Holy shit," Embry let out when he saw her. "This was a bad time, eh?" Quil snickered. "Shut up," Paul and Mia snapped at the same time.

Jake sighed. "Uhm... sorry. About interrupting... err," he looked flushed. Well, he could join the club Mia thought. "But we've got to talk," he continued. "Can't it wait?" Paul exhaled. Jake, Embry, and Quil's faces hardened. "No," Embry said.

"In fact, we've got to go to Emily's now," Quil added. Then he turned to Mia. "But we could wait a few minutes for you to get ready," he said slowly. Mia felt herself become a tomato with his comment.

Paul closed the door on their faces and turned to her. "Uhm, give me a few minutes," Mia said and rushed to the toilet. Her hair was a mess and her lips were swollen. Plus she had a few, very visible hickeys. She fashed her face a couple of times and quickly put her hair up to at least look decent.

Paul was waiting for her at the bathroom door when she walked out. "Scratch before, that was embarrassing," she said. He chuckled. "Cmon, let's go see what their problem is," he said and threw his arm over her shoulder.

Luckily the boys didn't further comment on the situation when they got out. Mia quickly shot a text to her mom about going to La Push. They squeezed in Jake's car. "Okay, talk," Paul said. He and Mia were in the backseat with Embry. His arm was still over her.

"What are you guys even doing here?" Mia asked. "We were at Bella's party," Quil replied from the front seat. "What?" Mia exclaimed and leaned forward. She hit Jake's shoulder. "You went? After what you pulled?"

"For your information, I was invited," Jake replied. "I think her fist was her uninviting you," Mia snapped. Embry chuckled. "That was what Bella said," he said. "Yeah, whatever," Jake rolled his eyes. "I went to apologize. Besides, it's a good thing we went, turns out," Mia furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Just wait until we get to Sam, I don't want to tell it twice,"

They got to Emily's half an hour later. Sam jogged out of the house. "What's going on?" he asked. "Where are the rest?" Jake asked. "Patrol," Sam replied. Jake sighed and then he started talking.

Apparently, the 'other thing' the Cullens were busy with were these kidnappings in Seattle and they were worried about other vampires. It proved to be a newborn army. Jake then explained how they were going to come here for the Cullens and Bella.

Sam cursed. "How many?" he asked. "We don't know," Embry said. "But the leeches made it sound like it was plenty," he continued. "Jake said the pack would fight," Quil joined in. He then told them about Carlisle's offer.

Paul grabbed Mia's hand. "I mean, if they're coming here, regardless of the Cullens, we have to do something, right?" Paul asked. Mia turned to him. Was he aware of what he was saying? An army was coming, an army full of vampires.

They weren't even able to catch Victoria and now they were going to fight an entire army? Did he lose his mind? "Obviously," Jake muttered. "Fuck the leeches but if they're coming for Bella, she's a human, we have to get involved,"

The other guys seemed like they approved. Had they all lost their damn minds? "When?" Sam asked, crossing his arms. "Four days," Jake replied. "Four days?" Mia exclaimed. Jake nodded. "That's what the leech said,"

"Yeah the one who can see the future," Embry added. "Alice," Mia murmured. "They also said that they could help us on how to fight a newborn," Jake said. "What's the difference?" Paul asked, "A leech is a _leech_ ,"

Quil shrugged. "Don't know. They didn't say. But that they were different," he replied. Mia took a deep breath. "So we're doing this?" she muttered. Sam looked at her. "Yes. This is what we are here for. If that many of them are coming here, we don't know what they could cause. To the people here,"

Mia gulped. He had said the words. The Alpha had spoken so it meant they were in whether or not Mia was terrified. Of course, _of course_ , she wanted to protect her sister but she hadn't been in an actual fight with vampires, plural. Didn't the others feel scared too?

"Get in touch, we'll see what they'll have to say about these newborns," Sam said to Jake. He nodded in return. Mia's heart was beating in her mouth and she felt her legs shake again. But it wasn't like an hour before where it was because of pleasure, no, it was because of fear this time.


End file.
